Pro-Western parties have won the most votes in Romania’s parliamentary election and will look to form a coalition government as the European Union country faces a surge of support for far-right nation

Romanians vote in a parliamentary election on Sunday, one week after an independent far-right candidate won the most votes in the first round of a presidential election, a result now under review by the country's top court.

The leftist Social Democratic Party topped the polls in Sunday’s vote and the far-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians came in second.

Romanian centrist and leftist parties looked to have fended off a surge by the nationalist right in Sunday's parliamentary election, as attention turned to a top court ruling later on Monday on whether to annul the results of a presidential vote.

Romania's Constitutional Court on Monday validated the shock first-round result in its presidential election, setting the stage for a run-off vote on Dec. 8 that could upend the country's pro-Western orientation and erode backing for Ukraine.

Romania's ruling center-left Social Democrats were poised to secure the most votes in Sunday's parliamentary election, according to preliminary results published Monday.