The “change” went on a loop in Blagoevgrad and Pazardzhik

The chairman of the municipal council in Blagoevgrad became an almost unchanged person from the status quo. In Pazardzhik, the council is blocked, just like in Sofia. Only in Varna can it be said to some extent that the “forces of change” have mastered the local government.

Such is the situation after the first meetings of local parliaments in regional centers outside the capital, where PP-DB won the post of mayor. The situation in the capital itself is well known:

IN Blagoevgrad Radoslav Taskov from VMRO again stood at the head of the municipal council. He led the body from 2011 until now, with the exception of the period 2019 – 2021. He was even the Chairman in the term 2003 – 2007. That is, in view of the relevance, it is important to note that he was a partner of all mayors from GERB , and of Ilko Stoyanov, who has ruled until now. It is also important that Taskov was re-elected without another candidate being nominated – and most likely the local assembly will revolve around him and Mayor Metodi Baikushev – if it is at all durable due to the unique fragmentation. 16 are the political forces in the 41-member municipal council: VMRO has 6 councilors, GERB and “Gerg’ovden” with 4 each, PP-DB is one of the formations with 3, etc.

IN Pazardzhik it is also not easy – 15 formations make up the municipal council. The largest number are the councilors of “Novo vreme”, that is, of the former mayor Todor Popov – 10. The party members of the new Petar Kulenski are only 4, so are the Gerbers, and these are the second largest forces in the council. The fragmentation currently prevents any productivity. After three votes and countless hours of wrangling, the chairman has not been cast. The saga will continue next Tuesday.

In Varna formally, at the moment, a majority has been formed behind Blagomir Kotsev, based on PP-DB and “Citizens’ Alternative”. They have a total of 14 advisors, they will rely on the so-called floating majority. Hristo Dimitrov from “Citizens’ Alternative” became the chairman of the local parliament. He is one of the owners of the large construction company “Planex”, and the entire list of the formation was made up of representatives of local big business. It is also interesting that even before the vote, Dimitrov had said that the mayor would be subordinate to the municipal council – interesting times are ahead, during which it will be seen who exactly governs Varna.

WORK WORK WORK…

Things are calm in the municipalities of GERB. Plovdiv council was headed by long-time party adviser Atanas Uzunov (former referee, godfather of Hristo Stoichkov). The latest is that another person from sports – Nikolay Bukhalov, entered the city administration. He became deputy mayor with the department “Social activities, youth policies and sports”. Bukhalov is from the quota of “Causa Plovdiv” – the formation of the previous deputy mayor Georgi Tityukov. The main architect, currently temporarily, is Yana Zhelyazkova, who until now was in the “Trakia” region with the new city manager Kostadin Dimitrov.

“Citizens’ Alternative”, which is not a party, but a common brand of lists in different cities, got a chairman and in Stara Zagora – Iveta Lazarova. On local soil, VMRO is added to the brand. The situation in the council is not new, because even in the last mandate, Zhivko Todorov ruled with a chairman from a smaller formation.

No problem at all Burgas GERB appointed Mihail Hadzhiyanev as its chairman. He headed either the municipal or the regional election commission for many years. In these elections, he joined Boyko Borisov’s party through its civil quota.

MORE INTERESTING CITIES

It is curious the situation in Dobrich. Krasimir Nikolov from GERB, who fought a contested battle with Yordan Yordanov for the post of mayor, headed the council. The candidacy of a person from the local coalition of the mayor was unsuccessful.

IN Kyustendil what the representatives of the “Green Party” say is happening at the moment. Dimitar Velinov stood next to the mayor Ognyan Atanasov as the chairman of the council.

Although there is no large group in the council, the union ITN – BV c Lovechin addition to the mayor, also the chairman – Stracimir Petkov and Stefan Tiholov, respectively.

IN Yambol, where Valentin Revanski “reigned” for a second term through “Direct Democracy”, the local parliament was once again headed by Anton Shikov. The dominance of “Direct Democracy” is famous – 21 councilors out of a total of 37.

It is very toasted in Sliven. “Direct Democracy” was in the mayoral runoff there and is the second force in the council. So far, it has not surrendered, although GERB has a 14 to 8 lead in the number of councilors. A chairman has not been elected, behind the mayor from GERB, Stefan Radev, there is still no majority.