Analysts have commented that the support received by political parties' candidates, who will contest for the mayors' places in Blagoevgrad and Rousse tomorrow, will show the possible outcome of the next parliamentary elections.

The two posts were vacated after the June elections last year when the former mayors Dimitar Kalchev of Rousse and Kostadin Paskalev of Blagoevgrad became the ministers of State Administration, and Regional Development and Public Works respectively.

Pari daily wrote last Sunday that the local elections, being the third elections in a year, would probably have an outcome favourable for the left candidates.

"At the parliamentary and presidential elections, the social promises turned out a winning strategy on the market of pre-election pledges," the newspaper wrote.

Kalchev and Paskalev themselves governed Rousse and Blagoevgrad as representatives of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

The socialists now have mayoral candidates in both cities, Geno Genov in Rousse and Kiril Assiyski in Blagoevgrad, but only the former bets on social promises, while the latter's argument is experience in municipal activities.

Assiyski, a former teacher and former deputy mayor for education in Blagoevgrad, is the temporary replacement of Paskalev, who is supported by the BSP and the current Minister of Regional Development.

The National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) did not launch its own candidate for the upcoming local elections in Rousse. The results there will show how the electorate of the ruling majority will distribute votes among the other parties.

The local elections will be indicative of the position that former Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) member Evgenii Bakurdjiev has gained since he left the UDF last November and founded his own party, the Bulgarian Democratic Union - Radicals.

Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofianski's Free Democrats, founded last December after Sofianski left the UDF, are not going to participate in the local mayoral elections.

The ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) also remained without its own candidates.

Kassim Dal, MRF deputy leader and organisational secretary for the elections, said that the local structures of the movement in Blagoevgrad and Rousse would vote according to their own judgment.

"I know very well that for a year and several months until the regular local elections not much can be done. We hope that we will be able to get good results from all municipalities after a year and a half," Dal said in an interview with Pari daily last Thursday.