Romania prepares to elect new president

Romanians will cast their ballots in the country's first round of presidential elections following the candidates' final campaign rallies.

Romania will vote on Sunday to elect a president from amongst 12 contenders, with three of them considered as the main hopefuls.

Incumbent President Traian Basescu holds a slim lead with about 33 percent compared with 30 percent for his main rival, Mircea Geoana, opinion polls showed. The third candidate, Crin Antonescu, has about 18 percent backing.

A second round of voting between the top two candidates will take place on December 6, should no candidate collect an absolute majority of the vote.

In October, the center-left coalition government collapsed just weeks before the election as a result of party feuding. The new president is expected to appoint a prime minister to form a new cabinet.

The president's main task will be to win back the trust of international lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission, while restoring investor confidence damaged by political instability and back-pedaling on reforms.

The Balkan country of 22 million people remains one of the poorest and most corruption-prone corners of the European Union.