By 16.00h on Sunday, the turnout countrywide was of 15.21% in the referendum to redefine the family, according to the figures centralized by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC).
In Bucharest, the turnout at 16.00h was of 12.55%.
Until 13.00h on Sunday, the turnout countrywide was of 11.67% in the referendum to redefine the family. Sunday is the second day of voting.
The total number of people who cast their ballots was at 13.00h of 2,134,579, of which in the urban areas were 1,150,608 and in rural areas 983,971.
The number of people who voted abroad was of 63,241.
According to BEC, in Bucharest had voted 10.21% of the electorate, i.e. 182,923 persons.
By 10.00h on Sunday, 7.24% of voters have cast their ballot in the referendum to redefine the family.
Out of the total of 18,278,496 Romanians entitled to vote on permanent lists, only 1,32,642 went to the polls to cast their vote by 10 a.m. on Sunday.
The highest turnout has been reported in Dâmboviţa (11.3%), Bihor (10.39%), Dolj (9.71%) and Mehedinţi (9.45%). In Dâmboviţa, the turnout was 52% in some polling stations on Sunday morning. In Teleorman, some polling stations registered a turnout of 44%.
The lowest turnout was reported in Covasna (2.88%), Harghita (2.96%), Satu Mare (4.48%) and Maramureş (4.87%). There were 20 polling stations in Covasna where the turnout has not even reached 1%.
The turnout in Bucharest stood at 7.31% by 10.00h on Sunday.
50,043 Romanians voted in Diaspora by Sunday morning, the most of them being reported in a polling station in UK- 3,122.
The turnout was 5.72% at the end of the voting procedure on Saturday night. 6.50% had voted in Bucharest by 9 p.m. on Saturday and 45,797 Romanians living abroad had voted by the same hour.
The polling stations will be closed down at 9 p.m. on Sunday when the first exit polls will be also announced. To be validated, 5,483,548 voters should vote.
President Iohannis to vote Sunday evening, sources say
President Klaus Iohannis is said to vote Sunday evening, in Sibiu, sources quoted by hotnews.ro inform. The head of state is since Friday in Sibiu.
Sunday morning, President Klaus Iohannis and his wife, Carmen have attended the religious service at the “Holy Trinity” Roman-Catholic Church in Sibiu, where the head of state has been since Friday. He made no statements.
At the end of the service, Iohannis and his wife walked down in front of the Sibiu City Hall for several minutes and greeted some passers-by in the area.
Sociologist explains low turnout
Sociologist Gelu Duminica told local media that the turnout peak is on Sunday between 11.00h and 14;00h. In his view, if the result of the referendum to redefine family will be below the necessary threshold, the political class will get a lesson, arguing the absenteeism is the proof of the party’s poor mobilisation.
“If the vote will be favorable, then it will be a lesson for the entire society. If the vote will be below the minimum validation threshold, then it will be a lesson for the entire political class,” the sociologist said, adding that the Romanian people’s low turnout has rather offered a lesson to the Referendum’s initiators, the Coalition for Family.
He also pointed out that, although the Church is considered a major electoral agent, it has not proved until this moment that it is not so well organized as thought.