Sat, Feb 11 2012

Mayoral by-election campaigns start in Sofia, other towns

Tue, Oct 20 2009 10:05 CET

byPetar Kostadinov

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Mayoral by-election campaigns start in Sofia, other towns

Education Minister Yordanka Fandukova is considered the favourite to win the mayoral elections in Sofia against Bulgarian Socialist Party candidate Georgi Kadiev

Photo: Anelia Nikolova

Campaigning in the November 15 2009 special mayoral elections in Sofia, Vratsa, Pravets, Razlog, Belgelzh village and Sofia's borough Pancherevo starts on October 20 2009.

Special elections were called after the July 5 2009 elections for Parliament saw a number of mayors become MPs two years ahead of the end of their terms of office.

Boiko Borissov was mayor of Sofia before his party the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated as GERB in Bulgarian) won a majority in Parliament and he became Prime Minister, creating the vacancy in the capital city.

GERB's nominee for the post in Sofia, the city's former deputy mayor in charge of education and current Education Minister Yordanka Fandukova is considered by most polling agencies as the favourite to win the elections, capitalising on Borissov's immense popularity.

She will open her election campaign on October 20 at National Palace of Culture (NDK). Besides the GERB support, Fandukova has the backing of the two right-wing parties, the Union of Democratic Forces and the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, as well as the ultra-nationalist Ataka party led by Volen Siderov.

She faces competition from former deputy finance minister Georgi Kadiev of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). He was the only candidate for the job as BSP's candidate in the party's first internal party elections.

At the July 5 elections, the BSP had one of its worst election defeats, which sent it into opposition after four years in government. Four months later, the party is still in the grip of internal struggles, although party leader Sergei Stanishev was re-elected to the post on October 18 2009. Kadiev, who publicly refused Stanishev's support, opened his campaign on October 19 2009.

Other candidates for mayor of Sofia are architect and urban development specialist Pavel Popov from the right-wing Order, Law and Justice (OLJ) party, which decided not to support GERB's Fandukova even though OLJ leader Yane Yanev had pledged six months of unconditional support for Borissov's Government in Parliament.

The small Union of Free Democrats has also nominated a candidate, Ivan Antikadjiev

Other candidates still have time to register for the vote as the Municipal Elections Committee will accept documents until 7pm on October 20 2009.

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