ATHENS - Greece kicked off the second and final round of nationwide municipal elections on Sunday.

The second round involves areas where no candidate won more than 42 percent of the vote last Sunday. Voters will choose mayors in 247 towns and cities, and regional governors in seven prefectures.

The main battle is unfolding between the ruling New Democracy party and the main opposition Pasok socialists in Greece's second largest city of Thessaloniki, where government-backed mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos is seeking re-election against socialist deputy Christina Arapoglou.

In the first round of voting last Sunday, conservative-backed candidates swept 28 of the 54 regional prefectures, while socialist-backed candidates won an outright majority in 19.

The municipal elections came ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 2008. The vote is seen as a test for Greece's political parties.