site.btaSofia Socialists Push for Urgent Congress, Chair Warns It Could "Squander Party Energy"

The Sofia chapter of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) is calling for an urgent congress to elect a new leadership but the party Chair warned Friday that it could squander the party energy. 

In a statement sent to the media outlets, the BSP Sofia organization argued that an urgent congress was needed to consolidate the BSP.

In an interview with the Duma newspaper, circulated for a broader readership by the BSP press centre on Friday, party chair Atanas Zafirov said: "I am not shying away from analyzing politics and problems, but all major decisions must be made after the elections. [...]There will be a congress anyway, but holding it quickly will scatter the forces of the left. As a Socialist, I do not want such a fate for the BSP".

Zafirov said that BSP's biggest mistake in government was not doing enough to explain their goals and ideas to people. According to him, the party will not participate in the next coalition "carelessly or without thorough analysis". 

He added that the main tasks of the BSP currently is to prepare for elections, get organized, motivate its members politically, develop a clear but feasible programme for government, renew its lists and unite around the big goal. "I fear that a quick congress would mean squandering this energy," he added.

The first meeting of the party's National Council for 2026 is expected to take place on Saturday, January 10. The date was set as the members of the party Executive Bureau resigned at the end of 2025. Then the party chair, Atanas Zafirov, stayed on arguing that being elected by the party congress, he should ask again the congress to endorse his resignation. The resignation of the rest was prompted by tensions in the party local structures.