site.btaKrum Zarkov Elected Socialist Party Leader

Former caretaker justice minister Krum Zarkov is the new leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). Zarkov won 416 out of 721 valid votes cast during the party’s 51st Congress, held in Sofia on Saturday, said Madlen Stoyanova, chair of the BSP leadership election commission.

A total of 737 delegates voted in the election. Sixteen ballots were invalid.

Borislav Gutsanov and Rusi Statkov, who also bid for the top party post, received 302 votes and 3 votes, respectively.

The delegates also voted for Krum Zarkov to become a member of the BSP National Council.

Earlier, the party had announced that following the voluntary withdrawals of some candidates, only Borislav Gutsanov, Krum Zarkov and Rusi Statkov remained in the race for the leadership post.

Prior to the vote, Atanas Zafirov submitted his resignation as BSP leader in a speech to the delegates.

Zarkov described his election as "a victory over apathy and over the sense of surrender" rather than a victory of one leader over another. After his election during the 51st BSP Congress, Zarkov said in a statement that the party still has vigour and strength. He vowed to take "swift actions" with the help of his supporters.

The new Socialist leader went on to state: "Every Bulgarian citizen should know from now on that there is a party in Bulgaria that has traditions and a future, in which democracy is not just a word or merely a procedure but a way of functioning. There are mistakes, there is accountability for those mistakes, there is respect, and this is the normal political process, a process that should soon take hold across Bulgaria. And if until yesterday people were pointing fingers at us, today they should hold us up as an example. We will spread a different way of doing politics throughout the country."

Closing the BSP Congress, Zarkov proclaimed that "a new day is dawning."

In a Nova TV interview on Sunday, Zarkov expressed confidence that he would find enough people "to do what the congress has mandated". He added that he is yet to hold talks with the MPs from the parliamentary group (PG) of BSP – United Left.

The direction of BSP will be toward fighting the captured state, establishing the rule of law, and ensuring a good quality of life, Zarkov stated. Anyone who is moving in that direction - and former President Rumen Radev has stated this - is welcome for talks, and why not even for partnership, he said.

In response to a question about whether Rumen Radev would run in the upcoming early parliamentary elections with BSP, the party’s new chairman said he was not aware of any such discussions and he believes it would lack political logic. "Rumen Radev announced his political project only very recently, and you ask him to say how he intends to participate in these elections," Zarkov added.

Regarding the latest amendments to the Electoral Code that slashed the number of polling stations for Bulgarian voters outside the EU, Zarkov said he would support a potential presidential veto. He commented that the parliamentary group of BSP – United Left had not been unanimous on the adopted changes.