site.btaUPDATED Law Professor Daniel Valchev Won't Be Running for President

The Dean of the Faculty of Law of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" Daniel Valchev won't be running for President in the October 25 elections. He made public his decision Monday in a Bulgarian National Television interview. "Since my name has also been thrown around in all sorts of configurations, my original plan was to announce in early September what I intended to do, but since there is too much talk about that, it seems right to say clearly what my intention is: I will not participate in the upcoming presidential elections either as president or as vice president", he stated.

"This is also a matter of personal choice. My family has never been very keen about putting our private life on public display - not that we have anything to hide", Valchev added.

According to him, the upcoming presidential elections will be party-based and he does not think there is any room for an independent candidate. "Those who did not perform well in the latest early elections will want some kind of revenge, and Radev and his project will do everything possible to prevent such a revenge," he argued. In his words, this government should be given a chance. Valchev also commented that it is still not clear who leads the opposition and the struggle for leadership within it will intensify.

He denied having held talks with political forces - or that he could be the presidential candidate for Progressive Bulgaria, GERB-UDF or MRF. 

He believes "there is nothing more natural than for Iliyana Yotova to run" as President. "She is the incumbent President with the opportunity to seek another term and is visibly campaigning in a tactful manner," Daniel Valchev said. "To me, she is Radev's natural candidate. The opposite would be a problem, because would seems very strange that people who have worked in tandem for nine years should suddenly have one of them tell the other, 'You are not fit for the next step,'" Valchev added.

Commenting on a possible presidential bid by former caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, Valchev said: "Let's think logically: do you know anyone else who has a team filming what they do from dawn to dusk?" He added that Gyurov was "obviously doing it because he wants some kind of public exposure."