Borissov: Local election results point to continued stability of government
Bulgarian Prime Minister and GERB party leader Boiko Borissov said that the October 25 municipal election results showed that his party and the Reformist Bloc had better results than all the other parties, and if those of the Patriotic Front and ABC were added, this was a pointer to the national coalition government being sufficiently stable.
Since November 2014, Bulgaria has been governed by a cabinet made up of majority partner GERB with the Reformist Bloc and ABC as minority partners, with support in the National Assembly from the Patriotic Front.
Borissov was speaking in Brussels, where he was attending a meeting of European leaders on the migrant crisis, in reaction to exit polls showing his GERB party winning first-round victories in mayoral elections in Sofia and a number of other cities.
He said that the elections showed that a better governing arrangement could not be created at the moment, and he called for a steady course, “with reason and wisdom to try to manage the future”.
Borissov also congratulated the Bulgarian Socialist Party and Movement for Rights and Freedoms, two of the opposition parties in the National Assembly, saying that their results in the municipal elections were “sufficiently strong”. “They deserve to be paid more attention and for us to respect their voice in opposition.”
Commenting on the outcome of the national referendum on electronic voting, which produced an outcome which was too low in turnout to be decisive but which was sufficient for the issue to be referred to the National Assembly, Borissov said that he hoped that Parliament would decide to allow the introduction of electronic voting.
“It is extremely important, especially for people overseas. Besides, everyone has, you see, even children have a phone and laptop,” Borissov said.
- Deliberations by the Central Election Commission on whether Borissov broke electoral law by announcing to journalists on election day that he had cast his ballot for GERB Sofia mayoral candidate Yordanka Fandukova ended inconclusively. The commission was divided on the issue and the number who held that Borissov had broken the law fell short of the two-thirds majority required, a commission spokesperson told reporters.
