- Kiril Petkov also thanked Boyko Borisov for his support
- A lot of work was done during the campaign, a girl from our headquarters was admitted to the hospital from exhaustion, explained the PP co-chairman
The difficult task is ahead – to prove that, in addition to winning elections, we can also govern – this is what the new mayor of Sofia, Vasil Terziev, said in his first statement after the elections.
He appeared before the media at the DSB headquarters together with the first on the list of PP-DB and “Save Sofia” Boris Bonev, as well as with the leaders of the formations that supported him – Hristo Ivanov, Kiril Petkov, Vladislav Panev and Gen. Atanas Atanasov.
Terziev recalled his request to fight for the mayor’s seat, for a majority of regional mayors and in the Metropolitan Municipal Council and announced that all three goals were fulfilled. He boasted that their SOS group would also have more people than the second and third combined. It is about 23 out of 61 municipal councilors and 19 out of 24 regional mayors.
The change is slow, but it is an irreversible process. There is no mayor who can rely on clientelistic support, said Kiril Petkov.
Thanks to everyone, a lot of work was done during the campaign, a girl from our headquarters was admitted to hospital from exhaustion, he pointed out.
Pazardzhik proved that there is no fortress greater than people’s desire for change. The people of Blagoevgrad said, “We believe that our future can be different,” Petkov said.
He thanked not only his own, but also other right-wing voters, mentioning “Blue Sofia” by Vili Lilkov and Petar Moskov. He also mentioned the leader of GERB, Boyko Borisov, although according to sociologists, most voters of GERB supported Vanya Grigorova.
Hristo Ivanov also commented on the future of the assembly, asking what the alternative was, whether new parliamentary elections were necessary. We will not engage in flattery, threats, arm wringing precisely because we are reasonable. I don’t see a better alternative that can be relied on, he commented.
Terziev was officially elected, but with less than 5,000 votes ahead of his opponent Vanya Grigorova. Therefore, both waited for the official results to come out before making requests for the future management of the capital.
The new mayor explained that he will present his priorities to the other formations in the SOS. We will seek support for those things that we are convinced will benefit the people of Sofia, and we think there will not be a big division, he pointed out and added that there are points that overlap in the various pre-election programs and there should not be division.
However, Bonev was far more firm, who stated that their group would not make concessions. However, he recalled that the municipal council is different from the National Assembly, since there is no danger of early elections if there is no clear majority. According to him, the problems there are often even domestic and can be solved more easily.
We will all have to learn to negotiate with the various opponents and even with those we do not trust. Otherwise, while we wait, we will miss a lot of time in which this city should be managed, summarized Hristo Ivanov.
It is not yet clear who Terziev’s replacements will be. He promised to present them next week. The proposal for chairman of the SOS will be Bonev.
Why so few people vote is a question for the entire political class, which for years has made people think that their vote does not matter. This is the challenge before us for the next four years – to prove that this is not the case, explained Terziev.
According to Bonev, the election victory cannot be attributed to the support of GERB and Boyko Borisov.
“Big thanks to every single person who voted for me. Each one of you is the reason we are optimistic that better times await Sofia,” said Vasil Terziev.
“I want to thank everyone who believed that the future of their city depends on them. Change is slow, but from today it is an irreversible process. There is no corner of Bulgaria that will be guaranteed from now on. Every mayor must work if wants to stay in power,” said PP-DB co-chair Kiril Petkov.
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