Poll hopes fade for Romanian President

The chances that the Romanian President, Ion Iliescu, would be re-elected suffered a serious setback when his challenger in a second- round run-off vote, Emil Constantinescu, received the formal backing of the former prime minister Petre Roman. Mr Constantinescu and Mr Roman, who came second and third in Sunday's first round of the presidential contest, collectively command far more support than Mr Iliescu, who is a former Communist. If elected, Mr Constantinescu has promised to speed up economic reforms, cut taxes and press harder for Romania's early entry to the European Union and Nato.

Adrian Bridge