Bulgaria's Die-Hard Rightists to Elect New Leadership, Replace Kostov

Ivan Kostov, a former Bulgarian Prime Minister (1997-2001), has announced his decision to resign as leader of the right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria party after the party failed to gain any seats in Parliament. Photo by SPA

Ivan Kostov, long-time leader of the right-wing Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party, is to officially quit the political scene on Sunday, picking a deputy for his successor.

Kostov has nominated Radan Kanev for DSB Chair.

Following the poor performance of the party at the May 12 parliamentary elections, DSB leader and former Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, DSB Deputy Chair Radan Kanev and Petar Moskov announced that they were resigning.

DSB failed to pass the 4% threshold to enter Parliament.

On May 13, Kostov made clear that DSB's governing body would resign collectively on June 23 and the party's national council would elect a new leader and a new governing panel.

During the press conference, Kostov also noted that DSB saw no reason to challenge the election results, adding that the outcome of the May 12 vote did not spell an exit from the crisis for Bulgaria.

Kanev, in turn, suggested that Bulgarians with democratic beliefs had been left without representation in Parliament, which was an unheard-of situation.

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