Bulgaria PM among Ruling Party Candidates for President

Domestic | May 4, 2011, Wednesday // 10:06|  views

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov (L) is pictured here with Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov (R), who is also head of the elections headquarters of the ruling GERB party. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is among the candidates of the ruling GERB party considered to run in the upcoming presidential elections in the autumn, the interior minister said.

"No political decision has been taken yet, but it is only natural that the leader of the party is among the discussed candidates," Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who is also head of the elections headquarters of the ruling GERB party, told the morning broadcast of TV7 on Wednesday.

In his words Boyko Borisov, a lady and one more candidate are the three nominees, which are being discussed by the party at the moment.

Asked who will become prime minister, should Borisov be elected president, Tsvetanov said:

“The puzzle now is totally messed up. We will start to put it back in order after our nominee is officially announced.”

All the three potential candidates are very popular and well known by Bulgarian voters, so it is no problem if their names are announced at the last moment, Minister Tsvetanov explained.

“We are resorting to this strategy in a bid to prevent our enemies from playing dirty games,” he said.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has recently expressed conviction that his party has among its ranks at least five likely nominees able to sweep the elections for the high, though largely ceremonial, office of president. He has even hinted to journalists that he might run for president.

Meanwhile internet forums in Bulgaria are overflowing with calls for the highly popular Kristalina Georgieva, currently the EU's humanitarian aid commissioner, to run in this year's presidential elections.

The ruling party GERB is unlikely to nominate Interior Minister Tsvetanov, as initially planned, because of the string of discrediting information revealed about him recently, but it is still unclear whether Kristalina Georgieva will agree to run or Boyko Borisov's real political goal will prove to be the presidential office.

The most disputed aspect of the vote is the prospect of former special agent of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and controversial businessman, Aleksei Petrov, running in it.

Bulgaria nationalist leader Volen Siderov has also said he is determined to run - again - for the office. Siderov has been promoting openly his racist beliefs, which disgusted many Bulgarians but fascinated others.

The popularity of the national leader however has weakened tremendously over the last year and analysts say there is no risk of Siderov's making a breakthrough and inciting ethnic tension, something that has brought dramas in the Balkan region.

Despite the mostly ceremonial duties of the post, the president can name figures to bodies like the secret service, the media watchdog and others to extend his influence.

Incumbent Socialist President Georgi Parvanov was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2006 and isn't eligible to run in next year's presidential elections.

The candidates in 2011 elections will probably inspire more than one out of six million voters, the turnout during the previous vote in 2006, but the winner, will hardly be able to call himself president of all Bulgarians.

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Tags: interior, Prime Minister, Bulgarians, Bulgaria, Kristalina Georgieva, Aleksei Petrov, Borisov, Boyko, Parvanov, Georgi, Siderov, Volen, president, Interior Minister, local elections, Tsvetomir Paunov, elections, GERB, Tsvetanov, Tsvetan, Ataka, Blue Coalition, minister

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