The election campaign for the early parliamentary vote began on October 27. 19 parties and 9 coalitions are entering the fight for the voters' vote. Where is the fiercest battle looming and who will face whom in the various constituencies in the race for a seat in the 51st Parliament? The information was collected by Nova TV.
The deadline for submitting the lists of candidate deputies of the various formations expired on Tuesday, but changes could be made until Thursday evening. Last night, the District Election Commission in Vratsa published its decision approving the replacement of the leader of the People's List of Ahmed Dogan. There at the head of the "Alliance for Rights and Freedoms" it is now Nikolay Barekov, not Alizan Yahova. The former journalist who entered politics was also an MEP. In recent weeks, he actively participated in the protests in support of Dogan. Changes were also made in the list of GERB in Varna, but it is a matter of quite a few back places - really unelectable positions. From now on, shifts cannot be made according to CEC rules.
We rank the formations according to sociologists and their chance to enter the 51st National Assembly. We often hear that Sofia is not Bulgaria, but introducing the candidate deputies who are about to make decisions for our lives, we start with the capital again. The reason is simple - Sofia sends as many as 46 deputies to the parliament. The number of elected officials from the various districts depends on the number of residents.
23rd MIR in Sofia
In the 23rd multi-mandate constituency in Sofia, the GERB list is led by the current Speaker of the National Assembly, Raya Nazaryan. Opposing her are Kiril Petkov and Tsoncho Ganev, who are familiar faces from PP-DB and "Vazrazhdane". The United Left puts the chairman of the BSP youth organization, Gabriel Valkov, as its leader. ITN bets on Pavela Mitova. “Movement for Rights and Freedoms – A New Beginning” – of the entrepreneur from Kardzhali Ediz Saidov. “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms” recognized the former regional governor of Sofia Veselin Penev as the leader of his list.
24th MIR in Sofia
In the 24th district are Yordanka Fandakova, Nadezhda Yordanova and Petar Petrov. And here “BSP – United Left” elects the paper to be led by a new person – Atanas Atanasov. He is a financier and a young socialist. The doctor Silvi Kirilov will collect votes for “There is such a people”. “Movement for Rights and Freedoms – A New Beginning” has given its trust to Rahim Yumerefendi from the youth organization of the Pavlin Naydenov Movement, while he will lead the list of the “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms”.
25th MIR in Sofia
The leader battle is traditionally in the 25th MIR. There are Boyko Borisov for GERB-SDS, Nikolay Denkov for “Continuing the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” and Kostadin Kostadinov for “Revival”. The left chooses not to bet on a new person, as in the previous two regions, but on the acting chairman of the BSP, Atanas Zafirov. And the leader of ITN - Slavi Trifonov will fight for the support of voters in this area. The list of the coalition, in which Delyan Peevski also participates, is led by Iskra Mihailova in the 25th MIR. Ahmed Dogan's supporters can cast their vote for former Deputy Interior Minister Yavor Haitov.
Blagoevgrad
The region sends 11 deputies. GERB-SDS will be led by Rosen Zhelyazkov. PP-DB is betting on former regional minister Andrey Tsekov. Deputy Tsveta Rangelova leads the "Vazrazhdane" list. There “BSP – United Left” takes Kiril Dobrev to first place. He was expelled from the BSP, and then the court declared that this was illegal and reinstated his membership. ITN is betting on Pavela Mitova, who was also an MP in the 50th National Assembly. In Blagoevgrad, Delyan Peevski leads the list of “Movement for Rights and Freedoms - A New Beginning”. He is opposed by the former MP Ahmed Vranchev, who is now independent after the DPS group in the parliament split.
Burgas
The seaside town sends 14 deputies. There, GERB-SDS implements a new strategy – appoint the mayor Dimitar Nikolov as the leader of the list. Moreover, with the prior request that he will not become a deputy or a minister. Traditionally, Nikolov won the mayoral elections in the city already in the 1st round. Now he will obviously be counted on to win votes not for the local but for the national parliament. The PP-DB is facing Yavor Bozhankov against him. “Revival” bets on Tsoncho Ganev. BSP sends MP Petar Kanev. ITN will fight the competition with Toshko Yordanov at the helm. “Movement for Rights and Freedoms – A New Beginning” put the long-term mayor of Rouen Ismail Osman as the leader in the Burgas constituency. He will face Jevdet Chakarov from the “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms”.
Varna
The maritime capital is sending 16 elected officials to Sofia. There, the list of GERB-SDS will be headed by Daniel Mitov. He faces another Daniel – Daniel Laurer of PP-DB. Traditionally, the leader of “Vazrazhdane”, who is a native of Varna, leads the list there as well. BSP bets on Borislav Gutsanov. ITN places Toshko Yordanov at the top of its list. The coalition around Delyan Peevski sends the leaves to Varna to lead Yordan Tsonev. Husni Adem from the “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms”, who is currently an independent MP, will fight against him for the DPS votes.
Plovdiv
The clash in the city under the hills will be fought between the leader of GERB-SDS Boyko Borisov and the co-chairman of PP Asen Vasilev. Votes for “Revival” will be collected by the deputy Angel Georgiev. At the head of the list of the BSP is also a current MP – Ivan Petkov. ITN bets on Stanislav Balabanov. The people around Peevski send Stanislav Anastasov as the leader of the list. Those around Dogan are betting on the former Minister of Defense Nikolay Tsonev, who is from the "Sbor" – the other coalition partner.
Stara Zagora
In Stara Zagora, GERB implements the same scheme as in Burgas – the list is led by the mayor Zhivko Todorov. PP-DB will be headed by Radoslav Ribarski. “Revival” has bet on Iskra Mihailova. MP Halil Letifov will collect votes for “Movement for rights and freedoms– A New Beginning”. People's representative Sevim Ali will fight for the votes of voters from the ranks of the “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms”.
Haskovo
Haskovo and Kardzhali are the regions where DPS usually collected the most serious votes. The city of lindens sends only 8 deputies. Delyan Peevski from the “Movement for Rights and Freedoms– A New Beginning” and Mümün Mümün MP for the “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms”. Traditionally, GERB lists are led by Delyan Dobrev, and PP-DB by Asen Vasilev. First in the list of “Revival” is the MP Georgi Georgiev. There, the BSP puts the deputy chairman of the ABV Vladimir Marinov in the first place. The leader for ITN is Silvi Kirilov.
Kardzhali
In the southern city, known as a bastion of the DPS, honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan and the city's mayor Errol Mümün face each other. Dogan is returning to real politics after a long absence. Muyun took over the mayor's position last year after the long-term rule of Hassan Aziz. Tsveta Karayancheva leads the group of GERB-SDS, and PP-DB appoints businessman Sabahatin Gökce as its leader. “Revival” bets on Georgi Georgiev. The United Left will be led by the long-time municipal councilor Georgi Kyuchukov, and the ITN - by the teacher Yulia Chortleneva.