Bulgaria needed to be an active EU member state, rather than part of the union’s periphery, President Georgi Purvanov told a news conference after the second round of presidential elections on October 29.

Purvanov won a second term in office with the support of nearly 78 per cent of voters, defeating the leader of the ultra-nationalist Ataka movement, Volen Siderov.

Bulgarians had voted wisely and responsibly, said Purvanov. Various political leaders had offered contradictory advice but voters had managed to make the correct choice.

Purvanov said that with the elections over, he was willing to work with all democratic parties in Bulgaria. Purvanov said he had no personal conflict with Siderov.

“I am against policies that aim to create artificial ethnic tension in regions that have a mixed population,” Purvanov said.

It was the first time in Bulgaria’s history that a presidential candidate had got more than 60 per cent of the vote in both rounds of an election, he said.

Purvanov said that he would continue following a foreign policy that ensured Bulgaria’s EU future. Other foreign policy priorities would include a focus on problems like the trial of the Bulgarian medics in Libya, said Purvanov.

He said that the priorities of his next term as President would include national defence and the professionalisation of the military, said Purvanov, who as President is Commander-in-Chief of Bulgaria’s armed forces. Other priorities would be to work in co-operation with municipal authorities, and to promote municipal decentralisation.

Active budget policies and preferential treatment for Bulgarian companies were also needed, said Purvanov. He said that he wanted to see an increasing number of young people involved in the setting up of the country’s institutions.