Notorious Party RZS to Run Solo in Bulgaria's 2011 Votes

Domestic | April 28, 2011, Thursday // 09:55|  views

"The party Order, Law and Justice (RZS) will nominate its own candidates for president and vice-president," the leader Yane Yanev (pictured) announced. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

A small conservative opposition party with links to shady figures from Bulgaria's transition has said it will not team up with partners in the upcoming local and presidential polls in the autumn.

"The party Order, Law and Justice (RZS) will nominate its own candidates for president and vice-president," the leader Yane Yanev said in the town of Gabrovo.

The party will join the race during the local vote in all 265 municipalities and will pick candidates for mayors in more than 3,500 villages.

RZS recently made headlines again after renewing its efforts to prevent the country's former and current European Commissioners from running for president.

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU's humanitarian aid commissioner, and Meglena Kuneva, former commissioner for consumer protection, are not eligible to run for president, argues the conservative Order, Law and Justice (RZS).

RZS cites the Bulgarian Constitution, which requires that candidates for president are eligible only if they have lived in the country in the last five years.

Meanwhile the Election Code leaves a loophole, saying that the time a Bulgarian citizen has spent abroad after being deployed by the Bulgarian state should be included in this period.

In a bid to clarify the issue, RZS leader Yane Yanev has sent an inquiry to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, asking him about the time the two potential bidders have spent in the country and their permanent residence.

Minister Tsvetanov is expected to reply in writing.

Meanwhile it emerged that notorious Bulgarian businessman, ex-secret agent and suspected crime boss Aleksei Petrov will run for president next year.

Aleksei Petrov has unclear ties to the notorious Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party headed by Yane Yanev, and Petrov was even expected to become a formal RZS member in the near future.

On the other hand, he has publicly flirted with the idea of starting his own political movement, which could apparently press for a new constitutional arrangement for Bulgaria.

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Tags: Yane Yanev, RZS, corruption, Georgi Parvanov, president, underground, audiotape, vote buying, RZS, GERB, conservatives, order, Law and Justice

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