Bulgarian Ruling Party's Presidential Candidate May Get More Right-Wing Support

The biggest Bulgarian party's presidential candidate Tsetska Tsacheva must show full commitment to a 10-point reform agenda to receive support from Traycho Traykov, the Reformist Bloc (RB)'s dropped candidate, the latter has said.

Traykov was the joint candidate of junior coalition partner RB but did not make it to the runoff.

In a statement to the media, he enumerated ten key issues of his own agenda that Tsacheva has to accept in order to be endorsed. These include constitutional changes, a sweeping judicial reform that curbs the competence of Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor, investigations into political corruption cases, a strict control of presidential powers, and a primacy of human rights.

The latter reference is to Bulgarian authorities' move to summarily expel Turkish nationals from the country, handing them over to Turkey where they are sought as supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah G?len.

Traykov's letter comes at a time of confusion within the RB itself. RB, a loose coalition of centrist and right-wing parties, bid farewell to its most "radical" member DSB on Wednesday in opposition to the other parties' decision to support Tsacheva.

Traykov himself insists he cannot endorse Tsacheva outright, even though he would never opt for her opponent, socialist-backed Rumen Radev who won the first round.

Tsacheva has been making a last-ditch effort to mobilize support among conservative and right-wing voters as some polls have predicted she would lose the runoff on Sunday, prompting the government to resign.

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