Sergei Stanishev, Prime Minister and leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).
The results of the elections are a clear success for the BSP.

We all saw that the scenario which some people predicted did not happen, and there will not be early elections for Parliament. The BSP is the prime political force in the country with 21 per cent of the votes at national level. I would advise Boiko Borissov to take off his rose-tinted glasses and see the reality, because, as we saw, his party GERB is not the phenomenon that the National Movement for Stability and Progress (formerly known as National Movement Simeon II) was in 2001. I acknowledge the defeat in Sofia, but we have to bear in mind the personal charisma of Borissov here, and his candidate Slavcho Atanasov in Plovdiv (who won on the first round the same as Borissov). However, I can say that the BSP continues to be the party that has the most prepared people in the country. We all know that during the elections campaign the teachers were on strike, which created an unusual environment. The Government survived a no-confidence vote based on the strike, which once again showed that there is no chance of an early election, and the municipal elections have not changed this. In the end we achieved what we were aiming for. Ask yourself how many parties had managed to achieve such a result in elections in the middle of their term of office.

As for BSP candidate (in Sofia) Brigo Asparouhov, I want to thank him for having the courage to face one of the most, if not the most, popular politician in the country, Boiko Borissov. I want to say I am not disappointed in Asparouhov. He fought a difficult battle in a city where the BSP has never had major support and I am thankful for that.

To me, the elections showed some very negative tendencies. One is the “trade in votes”, an example of which we have shown in Varna on the Black Sea. The Interior Ministry has received plenty of reports of such activity, where people have been promised, and in some cases given, money in exchange for their support. The other tendency is people with Bulgarian citizenship living permanently in neighbouring countries, voting in Bulgaria – the so-called called election tourism. I have plenty of data about buses from Macedonia arriving for the elections in Blagoevgrad and Sandanski.

Brigo Asparouhov, BSP candidate.
Sofians made their choice and I am sure that within some time they will realise that it was a wrong choice. One of the reasons for my third place was the ongoing silent war between BSP leadership and the BSP unit in Sofia. Someone must take the responsibility and I think it is time for resignations. As for me, from now on I will be dealing only with my personal matters.

Boiko Borissov, winner of the elections for Sofia mayor and leader of GERB.
My win is a tribute to our performance and is indicative of the fact that Sofians did not succumb to shallow statements but believed in our pragmatic programme for Sofia’s development. It is recognition of my work in the past seven years and I want to thank Sofians for the trust. I understand that this is a big responsibility.

GERB won the highest number of votes in the country more than 596 696, while the BSP got 512 230. This means that our political project is gaining popularity and I will be building a party that is set to outlive me.

 As for the BSP, I can tell them to stop hiding behind the so-called independent candidates and admit their loss. The elections showed that Sofia is a right-wing city and the change in the country can start here. Soon people from other cities in Bulgaria will see the reality. I am aiming at neither the prime ministerial or presidential posts but I would relinquish my mayoral post should GERB win a mandate in Parliament. I see this not as deserting the mayor’s office, as the right-wing Martin Zaimov put it, because I cannot see how one could desert in favour of a more demanding post.

This elections were very important for GERB because we had to identify ourselves. Because of this, I am glad that Stanishev sees us as their main opponent. I am also glad that we have beaten the joint right-wing candidate in Sofia by three to one, which identifies us as the major right-wing party. As for the rose-tinted glasses, I want to remind you that I don’t even wear them, while Stanishev does. If he wants to save his party, he should call an early election, but we know that this will not happen because some current MPs will not win seats in the next Parliament. I want to say that I am open to co-operation with the other right-wing parties in Sofia’s municipal council.

Ahmed Dogan, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF).
It would very improper if we say we are not satisfied that with our performance at the elections.

These elections were very different from all the previous ones. Here we had the pragmatic element or the benefit a voter could get from mayors and municipal councillors. I expected GERB to have more than 50 per cent of support at national level, but this did not happen, and I see no threat to the ruling coalition. If we thoroughly analyse the situation, we will see that GERB has not grown substantially since the MEP elections this May. However, there is no doubt that GERB is now a true political force. As for the right-wing, I see very positive things. The candidacy of Martin Zaimov was a real step towards the revival of the right-wing parties. The teachers’ strike was among the main reasons for the BSP loss in Sofia. I want to say some words on the idea that was supported by National Movement for Stability and Progress about making voting compulsory in order to limit the so called ethnic vote. I see no problem in MRF supporting a referendum on the issue but be careful: it might turn that the MRF is the biggest party in Bulgaria for the next 50 years. I mean it.

Martin Zaimov, candidate of the right-win Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB).
I see my second place at the elections as a real success for the right-wing people in Sofia. Bearing in mind the attitude Bulgarians have towards politics, I consider my result as really positive. I want to say that I will be the next mayor of Sofia after two years when the next elections for Parliament are scheduled… Boiko Borissov has a reputation of deserting one post after another. I had honest promises and ideas, and when I become mayor after two years, I will stick to them. Personally, I do not see a bright future for Borissov’s newly formed party and I can tell you I will be a true opposition to Borissov in the municipal council. I will always support a good initiative if it is for the benefit of Sofians, but I will never work with Borissov as political allies. As for the BSP, I think the party has a good future ahead of it but people such as Asparouhov are an insult to its supporters. For the right-wing people in Sofia, Asparouhov’s nomination was cynicism.

Plamen Yuroukov, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces.
Zaimov’s result is very good for the right-wing. The UDF won on the elections because we brought back the hope of the right-wing supporters that something big is on the way to happening. We at the UDF showed that political struggles are now behind us and I think that the DSB also sees how vital our alliance is for the right-wing people. I think that Zaimov was a true joint right-wing candidate.

As for Boiko Borissov’s success, Borissov has been working for this win for seven years.