Romania's central bank said on Tuesday it was looking for the "optimal way" to counter significant capital outflows amid steep falls in the leu currency after a hard-right opposition leader won the first round of a repeat presidential election.

Far-right leader George Simion was the clear winner of the first round of Romania’s presidential election vote, and will face a pro-EU centrist in the run-off on May 18. With nearly 99 per cent of domestic votes and more than 80 per cent of diaspora votes counted late on Sunday,

George Simion, leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, has emerged as the clear frontrunner in Romania’s presidential election redo, securing 40.5 per cent of the vote with nearly all ballots counted.

Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced his resignation on Monday, signaling a political shift following far-right leader George Simion's victory in the first round of the presidential election re-run on Sunday.

By Luiza Ilie, Elizaveta Gladun BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Hard-right eurosceptic George Simion won the first round of Romania's presidential election re-run on Sunday, final results showed, after a ballot seen as a test of the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.