Bucharest, Nov 25 (IANS) Exit Polls showed that Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party, took the lead in the first round of the presidential election, gaining 25 per cent of the vote.

The first round of the presidential election took place on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Elena Lasconi, the leader of the Save Romania Union, followed with 18 per cent of the votes while Calin Georgescu, an independent, gathered 16 per cent of the votes, according to the Exit Poll conducted by the Center for Urban and Regional Sociology - CURS.

According to the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, over 18 million voters registered for this election. Romania's President serves a five-year term, with a maximum of two consecutive terms allowed.