Former leftist president Ion Iliescu, presidential candidate of Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) answers journalists' questions during a press conference December 7, 2000 in Bucharest. Romania's 17.8 million voters will elect a new president between Iliescu, leading in opinion polls with some 70 percent, and hardline nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor, ranked second with some 30 percent.

BC/CRB