Ex-President Says Bulgarian Left-Wingers 'Indivisible'

Parvanov told reporters that he expected the congress to be "interesting" and "a battle of ideas." File photo by BGNES

No one can split the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), according to Bulgaria's former President Georgi Parvanov, who is eager to take over as the political formation's leader.

"Forget the word split when it comes to BSP," Parvanov told reporters on Saturday, referring to statements that the leadership battle between him and the BSP's current chair, Sergey Stanishev, may prove divisive for the party.

BSP's leader is expected to be elected late on Saturday at the party's 48th congress, with Parvanov believed to be the underdog.

Stanishev, a former Bulgarian PM, has 179 nominations from municipal Socialist conferences while Parvanov has 82. The interim president of PES delivered a long keynote address at the congress, focusing on plans to win in the 2013 general elections.

Parvanov told reporters that he expected the congress to be "interesting" and "a battle of ideas."

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