Four rightist parties in Bulgaria support common presidential candidate

09:00 Mon 07 Aug 2006 - Petar Kostadinov

Nedelcho Beronov: Born on July 22 1928 in the central city of Nova Zagora, Graduated in law in Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski (1951), Degree from the University of National and World Economy (1972), Chief judge in State Arbitration in Stara Zagora, Sliven and Varna (1954-91), Judge in the Court of Arbitration of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (1977-97), Professor of law at the technical and economics universities in Varna (1993-97), Many publications in law magazines, MP in the 38th National Assembly (1997), Elected Constitutional Court judge (1997), Chair of the Constitutional Court since 2003

Four of the main democratic parties named Nedelcho Beronov, Constitutional Court chair, as their candidate for president for the October 22 presidential elections in Bulgaria. The news came after representatives of eight democratic parties gathered in Sofia to discuss a joint candidate for president who would confront current President Georgi Purvanov, former leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.

The August 1 meeting was just another step in a process that started four months ago. Since then, the search for a right-wing joint presidential candidate has taken a lot of turns, and so far resulted in only four of the eight parties supporting a united nominee.

At present, Beronov can rely on the support of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB), the Union of Free Democrats (UFD) and the Democratic Party.

As for the other four right-wing parties that took part in the August 1 meeting – the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO), the Bulgarian Agrarian People’s Union-People’s Union (BAPU-PU), the Gergyovden Movement and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BANU) – Beronov must try harder for their support. Of those four parties, only BANU has announced that it would not support Beronov at all. The other three parties have neither denied nor confirmed their support for Beronov, which threatens to prolong the process of a joint right-wing presidential candidate once again, with less than three months before the elections.

Apparently having that in mind, DSB deputy leader Vesselin Metodiev told journalists after the meeting that a public council would nominate Beronov as a presidential candidate and the work on his campaign would start as of August 2.

The four parties that supported Beronov’s candidacy can be described as the group of the “big player” of the right-wing, since together they hold the majority of the right-wing seats in Parliament.

Beronov was initially suggested for candidate by the DSB, and later supported by the UDF after its leader and former president Petar Stoyanov withdrew his nomination. Beronov himself has stated several times that he would accept to run for president only if he had the support of all the right-wing parties. Although his nomination has not yet been officially announced, with the four main right-wing players behind him, Beronov’s candidacy seems almost secure.

A sign of this was the statements that came after the August 1 meeting. The UFD, IMRO, Gergyovden and BAPU-PU requested a meeting with Beronov in order for him to persuade them to support him. Several hours later, Beronov told Bulgarian news agency BTA that “several parties would like to meet me, so I will talk with each of them and win their support”.

In the past few weeks, three main reasons against Beronov’s nomination have come from the right wing. The first argument, according to Gergyovden leader Lyuben Dilov, is that the only people who could win against Purvanov were UDF leader Petar Stoyanov, DSB leader Ivan Kostov or Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov. Since Stoyanov withdrew his nomination and Kostov had never offered his, Borissov, according to Dilov, was the only suitable person for a joint right-wing candidate because of his constant popularity among Bulgarians.

This position was shared by BAPU-PU deputy leader Ventsislav Vurbanov on August 1, when he told journalists that his party was likely to meet with the citizens movement Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), led by Borissov. Although Borissov was never considered a potential right-wing candidate by the DSB and UDF, Beronov, when asked by BTA the same day whether he would seek support from GERB, said: “I will turn to all people with a right-wing mindset and will not turn my back on any of them”.

Although Borissov said last week that he would not run for president in this year’s elections, his political vacillation has been proven many times and his potential nomination is still on the agenda.

Previously, Borissov had expressed his sympathy for the current President Purvanov with the same passion with which he had expressed his sympathy for the right-wing, which, together with his immense popularity, might decide the winner in the elections.

Another reason against Beronov’s candidacy came again from Gergyovden. Beronov, although chairman of the Constitutional Court, is vastly unrecognisable among Bulgarians. The first time his name was mentioned in the media was when his nomination was suggested by the DSB. A good PR and media campaign might change that, but with less than three months till the elections, a lot would have to be done.

The third reason against Beronov running as joint right-wing candidate, however insufficient it might appear, was his age. Beronov is 78 years old, and many fear that he would not attract the young Bulgarians, however honourable he might seem.

Whether Beronov is the most suitable candidate for the right wing would become certain after the elections, but according to political scientist Evgenii Dainov, who gave an interview with private national Darik radio on July 27, Beronov’s candidacy was the final opportunity for the right-wing parties to prepare for the elections.