Consistency in foreign policy was the reason Simeon Saxe-Coburg and his movement gave for supporting current President Petar Stoyanov for a second mandate, said the prime minister on Tuesday after a long discussion with his parliamentary group.

"The decision is not based on strict party logic - to choose a candidate independently promoted by NMSII," Saxe-Coburg explained. "We give an example of tolerance, and that we care for Bulgaria's good."

Stoyanov expressed his thanks to the leader of the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII). "After this support, which in a certain sense makes the pre-election picture clearer, I definitely don't think the elections outcome is predestined. The decision will be that of the Bulgarian people who will vote on November 11."

Saxe-Coburg managed to convince his parliamentary group of his choice and later said they accepted it because they were patriots, but Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Ahmed Dogan refused to support Stoyanov.

"Bulgaria needs a new president," he said, adding that a second mandate of the current president would lead to pre-term parliamentary elections.

Among the presidental candidates reportedly considered by the NMSII until Tuesday were Bogomil Bonev, former minister of the interior in Ivan Kostov's cabinet, popular TV news anchor Dimitar Tsonev, NMSII floor leader Plamen Panayotov and Sofia University rector Boyan Biolchev.

Political observers said that none of the rumoured candidates would be a worthy rival to Stoyanov.

A poll published in 24 Chassa on Tuesday showed that Stoyanov would gather on average 47 per cent of the votes against any of the mentioned candidates, while Bonev, Panayotov, Tsonev and Biolchev would sustain the support of 12, nine, nine and eight per cent of the electorate respectively.

The suspense created by the silence of Saxe-Coburg's movement led the Bulgarian Socialist Party to the decision to advance their own candidate. After a three-hour debate, current party leader Georgi Purvanov was chosen as BSP's presidential candidate on Sunday.

"NMSII are still not clear about their presidential candidate. We cannot become hostages of this sluggishness," Purvanov said after his candidacy was announced. He expected a vice-presidential nomination to come from the MRF ranks, but after Dogan declared his party would launch its own candidate couple, BSP pointed to General Anguel Marin as a vice-presidential candidate.

The decision of Simeon's movement to support Stoyanov-Kutskova increases the chances of the left candidate on the upcoming elections, said Rumen Petkov, chairman of the pre-election headquarters of Purvanov. "NMSII's choice shows lack of identity and fear of participation at the elections," Petkov added.

Smaller non-parliamentary parties such as the Bulgarian United Socialist-Democratic Party (BUSDP) and a fraction of the Bulgarian Euro-Left (BEL) announced they would support Stoyanov.