Bulgarian Socialists Endorse Kadiev for 2nd Try as Sofia Mayor Candidate

Georgi Kadiev is going to try again for the Sofia Mayor post after he lost in 2009. Photo by BGNES

The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party has approved its candidates for mayors in 78 municipalities, including the nomination of Georgi Kadiev for Mayor of Sofia.

Kadiev, a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, also known as "the red yuppie", is thus going to make a second attempt to conquer the Sofia Mayor post in Bulgaria's local elections on October 23, 2011.

In 2005-2007, Kadiev was Bulgaria's Deputy Minister of Finance in the government of Sergey Stanishev (2005-2009). Since 2007, Kadiev has been a city councilor in Sofia. He has been a member of the National Council of Bulgarian Socialist Party since 2005.

Kadiev lost the Sofia Mayor by-elections in 2009 to the candidate of the ruling party GERB and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Yordanka Fandakova.

A recent public opinion poll found that if Fandakova faces Kadiev, she is predicted to win, as 38.8% said they would support her vs. 17.2% for Kadiev.

The other Socialist candidates approved by the National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party on Saturday include the incumbent mayor of Targovishte Krasimir Mirev, and of Razgrad – Dencho Boyadzhiev.

The Socialists also support the incumbent Mayor of the Garmen Municipality in south (populated primarily by ethnic Bulgarian Muslims, or Pomaks) Ahmed Bashev who in 2009 was accused of spreading radical Islamism in a scandal that subsided subsequently.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party now has candidates for 125 of Bulgaria's 264 municipalities, while the ruling center-right party GERB has not announced any of its candidates yet.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!