Key players in Romania parliamentary vote

(BUCHAREST) - With Romania heading to the polls on Sunday to elect its 470-member parliament, here are some of the key political players in the ex-communist Balkan country, which joined the European Union in 2007 and is its second-poorest member after Bulgaria:

Victor Ponta:

Prime minister since May, he is the head of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and co-president of the ruling centre-left Social-Liberal Union (USL) coalition. A 40-year-old former prosecutor, he spearheaded the effort to impeach his arch-rival President Traian Basescu, a move sharply criticised by the EU, the US and several rights groups over concerns the country's democracy was under threat. Ponta has denied accusations he plagiarised large parts of his 2003 PhD thesis, and is running for re-election as deputy of the southwestern department of Gorj.

Crin Antonescu:

Senate speaker and head of the Liberal Party (PNL), which is part of the USL coalition, he is co-president of the USL and will be its candidate for president in the 2014 elections. A 53-year-old former teacher, he served as interim president during this year's impeachment bid against President Traian Basescu. Criticised for remarks deemed anti-European, including by members of his own camp, he is running for a senator seat in the southern department of Teleorman.

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu:

Prime minister between February and April of 2012, his centre-right government collapsed after a no-confidence motion. The 44-year-old is a historian by training, with a master's degree from Oxford, and the country's former intelligence chief. He served as foreign minister in 2004-2007 and speaks English, French and German. He founded the Civic Force party and co-chairs the main opposition right-wing Alliance for a Right Romania (ARD). He is running for a senator seat in the western department of Arad.

Dan Diaconescu:

A TV mogul and presenter who founded the populist Dan Diaconescu People's Party (PPDD) in 2011. An extravagant man who drives around in a white Rolls-Royce, he plans to run for president in 2014. He is competing against Prime Minister Victor Ponta for election as deputy of the southwestern department of Gorj.

Traian Basescu:

President since 2004, the 61-year-old former sea captain steered Romania into the EU in 2007 in a historic step for the ex-communist dictatorship. He was re-elected for another five years in 2009, and has survived two impeachment votes, in 2007 and 2012. He is not a conventional political operator and seems more at ease among public crowds than fellow heads of state. The centre-right Basescu portrays himself as pushing justice reforms and fighting corruption. But opponents label him a tyrant, and critics accuse him of cronyism and of polarising society at a time when Romania, a democracy for just over two decades, needs stability. Once one of the country's most popular politicians, his approval ratings plummeted amid austerity cuts in 2010. Polls suggest he will continue to share power with the USL.