Bulgaria 2023 mayoral elections: WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia scores near-sweep in Sofia district races
We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria-Spasi Sofia candidate Vassil Terziev won the mayoral election in Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia by the narrowest of margins on November 5, but the electoral coalition’s candidates won the majority of district mayor races without any close calls, according to Central Election Commission data with 99.8 per cent of voting precincts reporting results.
We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB), which had a joint ticket with the Spasi Sofia (“Save Sofia”) civic association-turned-political party in the city, was set to win 19 of 24 districts, CEC data showed.
Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF coalition, which has run the Bulgarian capital since 2005, first with Borissov as mayor between 2005 and 2009, then with Yordanka Fandukova – the city’s first female mayor and its longest serving one at 14 years in office – will have only three district mayors.
At the local elections in 2019, GERB-UDF had won 12 of 24 district mayoral seats, with Democratic Bulgaria (now part of WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia coalition) winning eight, Bulgarian Socialist Part (BSP) winning one and independent candidates carrying three other districts.
WCC-DB and GERB-UDF – in an uneasy ‘non-coalition’ at national level to back the Nikolai Denkov Cabinet – saw their nominees square off in run-offs in 18 Sofia districts. GERB-UDF lost all but one of those contests, while also winning two run-offs against an independent and a candidate for pro-Russian Vuzrazhdane party.
The other two districts were carried by independent candidates.
A major feature of the district run-offs was the higher-than-usual share of voters using the “I support no one” option on their ballots. Some observers attributed this to voter fatigue with GERB-UDF, coupled with WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia’s lacklustre campaign.
The outcome of the 2023 district mayor elections in Sofia was as follows:
Bankya: Incumbent Rangel Markov (GERB-UDF) won the run-off with 53.6 per cent against Anton Brankov (Vuzrazhdane) with 35.4 per cent. A total of 11 per cent opted for neither.
Vitosha: Zarko Klinkov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 48.9 per cent against incumbent Teodor Petkov (GERB-UDF) with 40.7 per cent. A total of 10.4 per cent opted for neither.
Vrubnitsa: Roumen Kostadinov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 48.6 per cent against incumbent Mladen Mladenov (GERB-UDF) with 36.1 per cent. A total of 15.3 per cent opted for neither.
Vuzrazhdane: Stanislav Iliev (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 55.8 per cent against incumbent Savina Savova (GERB-UDF) with 32.8 per cent. A total of 11.4 per cent opted for neither.
Izgrev: Incumbent Delyan Georgiev (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 63.9 per cent against Diyan Stamatov (GERB-UDF) with 25.9 per cent. A total of 10.2 per cent opted for neither.
Ilinden: Emil Branchevski (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 46.5 per cent against incumbent Ivan Bozhilov (GERB-UDF) with 40.9 per cent. A total of 12.6 per cent opted for neither.
Iskur: Yassen Roussev (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 53.4 per cent against incumbent Ivailo Tsekov (GERB-UDF) with 31.8 per cent. A total of 14.8 per cent opted for neither.
Krasna Polyana: Dimitar Petrov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 56.6 per cent against incumbent Ivan Chakurov (GERB-UDF) with 30.3 per cent. A total of 13.1 per cent opted for neither.
Krasno Selo: Tsveta Nikolaeva (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 57 per cent against Roumen Roussev (GERB-UDF) with 27.7 per cent. A total of 15.3 per cent opted for neither.
Kremikovtsi: Incumbent Lilia Donkova (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia, previously elected as an independent) won the run-off with 50.8 per cent against Boris Petrov (GERB-UDF) with 44.1 per cent. A total of 5.1 per cent opted for neither.
Lozenets: Incumbent Konstantin Pavlov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 57 per cent against Anzhelina Toteva (GERB-UDF) with 30.1 per cent. A total of 12.9 per cent opted for neither.
Lyulin: Georgi Todorov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 52.8 per cent against incumbent Milko Mladenov (GERB-UDF) with 31.9 per cent. A total of 15.3 per cent opted for neither.
Mladost: Ivailo Koukourin (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 57.9 per cent against Yulian Peichev (GERB-UDF) with 25.2 per cent. A total of 16.9 per cent opted for neither.
Nadezhda: Incumbent Dimitar Dimov (GERB-UDF) won the run-off with 44.9 per cent against Roumen Dimitrov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) with 41.5 per cent. A total of 13.6 per cent opted for neither.
Novi Iskur: Vladislav Vladimirov (independent) won the run-off with 50.9 per cent against incumbent Daniela Raicheva (GERB-UDF) with 45.9 per cent. A total of 3.2 per cent opted for neither.
Oborishte: Georgi Kouzmov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 63.5 per cent against Yoanna Dragneva (GERB-UDF) with 23.2 per cent. A total of 13.3 per cent opted for neither.
Ovcha Koupel: Incumbent Angel Stefanov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 52.6 per cent against Borislav Todorov (GERB-UDF) with 31.6 per cent. A total of 15.8 per cent opted for neither.
Pancharevo: Evgenia Alexieva (GERB-UDF) won the run-off with 61.8 per cent against incumbent Nikolai Gyurov (independent) with 32.1 per cent. A total of 6.1 per cent opted for neither.
Poduyane: Kristiyan Hristov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 50.1 per cent against Petar Mitev (GERB-UDF) with 33.2 per cent. A total of 16.7 per cent opted for neither.
Serdika: Momchil Daskalov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 47.6 per cent against incumbent Todor Krustev (GERB-UDF) with 40 per cent. A total of 12.4 per cent opted for neither.
Slatina: Incumbent Georgi Iliev (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won the run-off with 64.2 per cent against Borislav Borissov (GERB-UDF) with 23 per cent. A total of 12.8 per cent opted for neither.
Sredets: Incumbent Traicho Traikov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won in the first round with 53.7 per cent.
Studentski: Incumbent Petko Goranov (independent, previously elected on DB ticket) won the run-off with 50.6 per cent against Enei Enchev (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) with 42.7 per cent. A total of 6.7 per cent opted for neither.
Triaditsa: Incumbent Dimitar Bozhilov (WCC-DB-Spasi Sofia) won in the first round with 50.6 per cent.
(Photo: Screengrab of voting machine via Bulgarian National Television)
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