BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Exit polls have given Romania's center-left government clear victory in parliamentary elections, but the result could inflame the personal rivalry between the nation's top two officials and bring yet more political upheaval.

The prime minister's governing alliance had about 57 percent of seats in the 452-seat legislature, according to a poll published after Sunday elections on national television TVR, followed by a center-right group allied to President Traian Basesu, which polled over 18 percent.

Basescu and Ponta are bitter rivals after the government tried to remove Basescu from office in an impeachment vote in July, a bid that failed as too few people voted to make the election valid.

Basescu has indicated he won't appoint Ponta again, calling him a "compulsive liar" and saying he plagiarized his doctoral thesis.