Bulgaria’s April elections: Candidate MPs who worked for communist State Security named
The Dossier Commission, the body empowered by statute to disclose the names of those in public life who worked for Bulgaria’s communist-era secret services, has identified 46 candidates in the April 2 early parliamentary elections as having been agents or staff of State Security.
Of the 4582 candidates in the elections, 1866 were checked by the commission, while 2716 were not subject to checking – the law provides, for example, exemption from being checked on the grounds of being too young to have worked for State Security.
The only contestant of any significance in Bulgaria’s April elections not to have former State Security agents or staff among its candidates is the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria electoral coalition.
Parties and coalitions found to have former State Security people among their parliamentary candidates included the Bulgarian Socialist Party, GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Stefan Yanev’s Bulgaria Ascending party, Iva Mitev’s Zaedno coalition, the National Movement for Stability and Progress (a party originally formed around former monarch Simeon Saxe-Coburg), the Left coalition, the Neutral Bulgaria coalition, and the Bulgaria out of Nato and the EU party.
Bulgaria’s constitution does not allow lustration and being identified as having worked for State Security or the Bulgarian People’s Army military intelligence is no bar to being elected to public office.
Those identified, with their electoral district in brackets, are:
Boiko Klechkov, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Kyustendil 10)
Boris Zlatarev, Neutral Bulgaria coalition (Plovdiv 16 and 17)
Valentin Zarkov, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Sofia 23)
Valentin Arabadzhiev, The Left (Blagoevgrad 1)
Velizar Enchev, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Sofia 23)
Ventsislav Ivanov, MIR (Sofia 23 and 24)
Veselin Dufev, Vuzrazhdane (Sofia 24)
Bulyo Iliev, Neutral Bulgaria coalition (Plovdiv 16, Sofia 23)
Georgi Vdovichin, GERB-UDF (Bourgas)
Georgi Georgiev, The Left (Sofia 26)
Georgi Nedyalkov, Bulgaria Ascending (Varna 3)
Damyan Nedelchev, Zaedno (Varna 3)
Dimitar Mitkov, MIR (Plovdiv 17 and Smolyan 22)
Diyan Yordanov, The Left (Shoumen 30)
Dunyo Dunev, Zaedno (Stara Zagora 27)
Emil Konstantinov, The Left (Plovdiv 16 and 17)
Emil Vladimirov, Neutral Bulgaria coalition (Montana 12)
Ivancho Georgiev, Zaedno (Sofia 25)
Krassimir Marinov, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Pleven 15)
Lyuben Videnov, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Sofia 25)
Lyubomir Kyuchukov, National Movement for Stability and Progress (Sliven 21)
Maxim Velkov, Bulgaria out of the EU and Nato (Sofia 25 and 26)
Matey Mateev, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Plovdiv 16)
Metin Alikov, Bulgaria Ascending (Pazarzhik 13)
Mehmed Yumer, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Silistra 20)
Milan Kosarov, Bulgarian out of the EU and Nato (Blagoevgrad 1, Pernik 14)
Miroslav Mirchev, Bulgarian Union Direct Democracy (Sofia 23 and 26)
Mihail Zahariev, National Movement for Stability and Progress (Plovdiv 17 and Sofia 24)
Naiden Naidenov, Bulgarian Union Direct Democracy (Lovech 11, Yambol 31)
Nikola Vuchev, Bulgarian Social Democracy – Euroleft (Sofia 24, Haskovo 29)
Nikolai Nikolov, Bulgarian Social Democracy – Euroleft (Pazardzhik 13)
Nikolai Dimitrov, Bulgaria out of the EU and Nato (Pleven 15)
Novko Popov, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Blagoevgrad 1)
Ognemir Penchev, The Left (Sofia 23)
Ognyan Saparev, Neutral Bulgaria coalition (Plovdiv 16, Haskovo 29)
Pancho Panchev, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Plovdiv 16)
Petko Bozhkov, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Plovdiv 16)
Plamen Shukyurkiev, National Movement for Stability and Progress (Sofia 25)
Radion Popov, Zaedno (Stara Zagora 27)
Radko Handzhiev, Neutral Bulgaria coalition (Sofia 25 and 26)
Ramadan Atalay, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Plovdiv 17)
Roumen Gechev, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Pleven 15)
Sashko Lozanov, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Stara Zagora 27)
Sashko Nikiforov, Bulgaria Ascending (Vidin 5)
Stefan Stoyanov, Bulgaria Ascending (Yambol 31)
Stefcho Georgiev, Bulgarian Socialist Party (Sofia 25)
Stiliyan Ivanov, MIR (Sofia 25)
Hristo Dochev, Bulgaria out of the EU and Nato (Pleven 15).
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