Bulgaria’s Gabrovo Elects New Mayor June 19

The citizens of the central town of Gabrovo will head for the voting booths on June 19. Photo by imotdnes.com

The citizens of the central town of Gabrovo will choose between seven runners in the early local elections for a new mayor on June 19.

The listed parties are center-right GERB, nationalist Ataka, leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party, the centrist party of former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg NDSV, conservative Order, Law and Justice (RZS), the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party and the Blue Coalition Plus, which brings together nine right-wing political formations.

The candidate of the ruling GERB party Nikolay Sirakov, who has served so far as deputy mayor, is widely viewed as the most likely winner.

Gabrovo will hold local elections after mayor Tomislav Donchev became the new minister in Bulgaria's conservative government appointed to speed up the ability to use European Union funds.

Bulgarians have pinned lots of hopes on the minister, who is expected to control the proper use of European Union subsidies, prevent fraud and clean up its record with the EU.

The European Commission froze in 2008 a total of EUR 825 M in pre-accession aid to Bulgaria and subsequently axed EUR 220 M over corruption concerns.

Bulgaria's new center-right government, which swept the elections in July, has made attempts to shake off the country's reputation for rampant graft and crime.

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