The results of the October 28 municipal elections around the country produced a generous helping of food for thought for political analysts. As predicted, the municipal elections produced a picture different to that carved by the 2005 parliamentary elections. “New portraits” can be seen in some of the major Bulgarian towns such as Bourgas, Plovdiv, Varna, Veliko Turnovo and Kurdjali.
Varna – shock and relief
Most Bulgarian-language media set aside little space for the expected first-round win of current Varna mayor Kiril Yordanov. Yordanov was considered a near-certain winner for a third consecutive term, and he did not disappoint, getting 53.42 per cent of the vote. The real news was about second place, which went to a local businessman and owner of a chain of drug stores, Vesselin Mareshki. He got 13.18 per cent, with Dimo Gyaurov, candidate of the right-wing parties, coming third with 10.34 per cent.
For the past three weeks, Mareshki became a symbol for aggressive and arrogant election campaigning, mixed with cheap populism and disregard for any established rules of political behaviour. His name appeared on national TV when police began investigating him two weeks before the elections. Mareshki was alleged to have given pensioners discounts on purchases from his pharmacies in exchange for pledges of support. The real shock came when Mareshki confirmed that he had done so, and saw nothing wrong in it. The Prosecutor-General’s office took a different view, and started an investigation, which is still proceeding. A few days before the elections, Mareshki once again secured precious time on all national TV channels. He was shown handing out 100 leva notes to teachers in his office. He said that he would give 100 leva to every teacher currently on strike for increased salaries in exchange for their support. Mareshki promised each a further 500 leva if he won. Mareshki won seven per cent of the votes for municipal council seats. This gives him third place in the council after GERB and the BSP, which got 13.51 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.
Bourgas, not of Yoan
The 12-year rule of Yoan Kostadinov in Bourgas ended on October 28. Once considered invincible as the mayor of the Black Sea city, Kostadinov did not make it to the second round of the elections on November 4. Bourgas is one of the few major cities in Bulgaria that will have a second round. Those who go to vote will have a choice between candidates from two relatively recently-formed parties.
These candidates are Dimiter Nikolov (42.66 per cent) of Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov’s party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), and face Valeri Simeonov (22.84 per cent) of the ultra-nationalist Ataka party. Kostadinov, supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, got just 16.35 per cent, followed by local businessman Vaklin Stoinovski with 13.09 per cent. Pundits commented that long-standing parties had failed in the region, given that both Nikolov and Simeonov were nominated by parties with less than three years of history behind them. GERB was established formally last December, while Ataka appeared on the scene in April 2005. Bearing in mind GERB’s strong performance in other parts of the country, including Sofia, Nikolov’s place in the first round was little surprise. Simeonov’s result was a different case.
Provisional results a few hours before the end of the elections day gave Kostadinov a slight lead over both Simeonov and Stoinovski, but the official results published on October 30 gave the ticket for their second round to Simeonov. As The Sofia Echo previously reported, Simeonov, who was best man at Ataka leader Volen Siderov’s 2006 wedding, entered the race as Siderov’s personal favourite. Simeonov is owner of cable TV channel Skat, on which Siderov has a 15-minute daily show. Most political analysts said that Nikolov would win the second round, but Simeonov was not to be underestimated. His first-round result was described by Siderov as Ataka’s best performance at these elections, and there is no doubt that Ataka will put every effort into the second round.
In terms of municipal councillors, GERB and Ataka can be pleased. GERB gets 14 out of the 51 seats and Ataka 13. BSP’s just five seats in the council has made its loss a really humiliating one. The days that the city could be considered BSP territory are over.
Kurdjali – an easy ride to victory
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) scored one of its easiest wins in Kurdjali, with its candidate Hassan Azis winning a second consecutive term at the first round of the elections with 61.51 per cent. Second was Nikola Pashinov from the right-wing Political Club Trakia. Before the elections, all parties expended futile effort in trying to come up with a joint candidate against Azis. The MRF victory also brought a majority in the municipal council, with 58.94 per cent of the votes. Pashinov’s party took 24.40 per cent with GERB winning just 6.75 per cent.
As in other cities with many Bulgarians of Turkish descent, the elections in Kurdjali did not go without complaints from the losing sides, that the MRF had relied on the ethnic and religious vote. Pashinov’s party asked for new elections to be held, citing their own investigation that more than 9000 people with Bulgarian citizenship but living in Turkey had been driven to Kurdjali for the elections by the MRF. This, according to Pashinov, was a violation of the law, because most of those 9000 voters had not lived permanently in Bulgaria for the past six months as the law requires. Interior Ministry data showed that more than 8000 people in buses had crossed the border with Turkey on the eve of the elections, a number far higher than any other day of the year.
Plovdiv – the personal touch
Like Sofia, Plovdiv chose its mayor at the first round. Slavcho Atanasov became Plovdiv’s new mayor, winning 53.65 per cent of the votes. Second was Zahari Georgiev, BSP leader in Plovdiv. Atanasov’s win is unique in Bulgarian politics because the main party behind him is the small-scale nationalistic Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO). Never in its history has IMRO had a mayor of a town of the scale of Plovdiv. Atanasov was embraced by GERB as well, but no one can deny that Hristov was a true IMRO candidacy. What adds to Atanasov’s uniqueness is that all political scientists said that his win actually had little to do with the overall policy of IMRO. Like Boiko Borissov in Sofia, Hristov bet on his personal popularity, not that of the party. Atanasov entered the race as mayor of one of the town’s neighbourhoods, Trakia, and as such had the benefit of being well known among Plovdiv citizens. His relatively young age and the distance he has kept from the traditional parties served him well. Some might say that Atanasov won because the right-wing Ivan Chomakov decided not to stand for a second consecutive term and the traditionally right-wing orientated Plovdiv citizens were faced with a choice between Atanasov and BSP’s Georgiev, but the performances of the two right-wing candidates, Spas Garnevski of the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (3.22 per cent) and Nikolai Karaivanov of the Union of Democratic Forces (3.33 per cent) left no doubt that Atanasov’s win was well deserved. In terms of municipal councillors, IMRO and GERB won the most seats, followed by the BSP.
