site.btaSergei Stanishev Re-elected as PES President

Sergei Stanishev Re-elected as PES President

Budapest, June 13 (BTA) - Sergei Stanishev was re-elected as
President of the Party European Socialists (PES) at its congress
in Budapest on Friday by a vote of 69.5 per cent in favour and
16.5 per cent against, with 13.3 per cent abstentions, his
office said. Of the 419 delegates with the right to vote, 407
voted, and 404 ballot papers were valid.

His rival, Enrique Baron Crespo, said that seeing the huge
support for the incumbent PES leader, he was withdrawing his
nomination.

After his election, Stanishev said he was happy and moved by the
victory, which he considered a victory for Bulgaria and his
party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). He took his
re-election as a sign of great trust on the part of the PES
member parties, of the PES activists and organizations.

The BSP-Left Bulgaria coalition quoted BSP Chairman Mihail Mikov
as stating in his address on Facebook as soon as the results
were announced: "Sergei Stanishev's election for another term as
PES leader is important because a Bulgarian will lead Socialist
and Social Democratic Europe at times of great challenges to
the Left. A man with Sergei's political experience and will can
deal with this responsibility properly."

A delegation led by Mikov attended the PES forum in Budapest at
which Stanishev was re-elected.