Amid a wave of apathy, a second round of local elections takes place across Romania on Sunday in which the next Bucharest mayor for the following four years is to be decided, as well as mayors for some 15 large cities and thousands of small towns and villages. Besides Bucharest, the most large cities where voters have yet to decide their mayors are in the region of Moldova: Iasi, Bacau, Vaslui, Focsani, Braila and Galati. Voters in other cities including Ploiesti, Satu Mare, Bistrita and Hunedoara are also expected to decide their mayor.

The list of cities where elections take place today goes on with Calarasi, Mangalia, Tecuci, Sighisoara and Sfantu Gheorghe.

In the first round of elections on June 1, the Democrat-Liberals (PD-L) won the city halls of most large cities and claimed victory in the elections. But so did the Social Democrats (PSD) as well, considering their candidates won most ballots, but lost in large cities.

More than half of mayor seats across the country were solved in the first round of elections - 1,709 from a total of 3,183.

In Bucharest, the battle brings face to face Vasile Blaga of the Liberal-Democrats, the main party backing President Traian Basescu, and independent Sorin Oprescu, who had resigned from the PSD party just before the electoral campaign started. While the PSD had its own candidate, it is widely alleged that many party leaders have backed Oprescu anyway.

The Sunday vote began at 7.00 a.m. and is due to close at 9.00 p.m. when the first exit-polls are expected to be announced.