BUCHAREST - Independent candidate Calin Georgescu has taken a narrow lead in Romania's presidential election, securing 21.9 percent of the vote with 77 percent of ballots counted, according to partial results released late on Sunday night.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party, trailed closely with 21.3 percent. Elena Lasconi, the leader of the Save Romania Union, is in third place at 16.3 percent, followed by George Simion, the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians at 14.5 percent.

Key areas such as Bucharest, with 930,000 votes, and the diaspora, with 820,000 votes, remain largely uncounted. Together, these regions account for 1.7 million of the 2.8 million votes still to be tallied and are expected to significantly influence the outcome of this election's first round.

Exit polls indicate that Lasconi could perform well in these areas, potentially narrowing her 450,000-vote gap with Ciolacu. If she surpasses him, the final runoff could shift from a Georgescu-Ciolacu contest to a Georgescu-Lasconi showdown.

With a substantial number of votes yet to be counted, analysts caution that the final standings are too close to call. Who will challenge Georgescu in the runoff hinges on the uncounted ballots from these decisive areas. Final results are eagerly anticipated.