Romania's Social Democrat leader resigns after poll rout

• The head of Romania's Social Democratic Party (PSD) Viorica Dancila.
• Dancila was prime minister from January 2018 until her government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in October.
• The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Marcel Ciolacu.

BUCHAREST: The head of Romania's Social Democratic Party (PSD) Viorica Dancila has resigned after a drubbing in the presidential election.

"I have tendered my resignation, it's a gesture of dignity, not of weakness," Dancila said after a six-hour party meeting late Tuesday.

Dancila was prime minister from January 2018 until her government collapsed in a no-confidence vote in October.

She was the PSD candidate in the presidential election but took just 34 percent of the vote in Sunday's run-off.

Her opponent, incumbent centre-right President Klaus Iohannis won a landslide victory with two-thirds of the vote.

"I did everything I could to secure a good result at the presidential elections but after consulting with my colleagues I've understood that the party needs a new team with a new programme," Dancila said.

Romanian media reported that during the meeting eight of the party's 16 vice-presidents resigned, leading Dancila to conclude that she didn't have enough support to continue.

The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Marcel Ciolacu, has taken over as interim leader of the PSD, seen as an heir to the Communist party.

Six weeks ago, Dancila's government was voted out of office by MPs and replaced by an administration led by the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) from which Iohannis also hails.

Dancila, a former MEP, was largely seen as having been installed as head of government by ex-PSD chief Liviu Dragnea, who was jailed this year on corruption charges.

Finding new leadership will now be a priority for the party ahead of local and parliamentary elections due in 2020.

After the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship in 1989 the PSD dominated political life but has been losing support in recent years, including in its rural strongholds.