Six pairs of candidates for president and vice-president will compete for people's votes on November 11. Although eight candidate couples applied for registration at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), two of them failed to submit missing documentation by the deadline on Saturday evening.

Besides the independent candidates, Petar Stoyanov-Nelly Kutskova, and the Coalition for Bulgaria nominees, Georgi Purvanov-Angel Marin, contestants include George Ganchev-Vesselin Bonchev from George Ganchev's Block, Bogomil Bonev-Atanas Jelezchev from the Civil Party for Bulgaria, Petar Beron-Stoyan Andreev from Union Bulgaria, and Reneta Indjova-Krustio Ilov from the Democratic Alliance.

Kiril "Liberalo" Borisov from the Pernik Liberal Party and Mitko Dimitrov from the Alliance for Preservation of Bulgaria's Riches were denied registration because they did not provide the 5,000 leva deposit and missing certificates before the deadline.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) has not yet decided who to support. Its leaders favour Indjova, but they want to talk to her first to see if she is ready to take on certain responsibilities, party leader Ahmed Dogan said.

Bonev told the media last week that he is entering the race because after Simeon Saxe-Coburg lent the support of his movement to Stoyanov, a lot of people might have decided that the outcome of the vote on November 11 was a foregone conclusion.

Purvanov's campaign, under the motto "Because I am on your side," started on Tuesday with a press conference in NDK. He said that this is going to be "a campaign of a severe clash of ideas" and added that he will point out all the mistakes of the current president.

Stoyanov's registration, on the other hand, was challenged by 57-year-old lawyer Dodiu Dodev who filed a petition on Friday last week. Dodev said that Stoyanov and Kutskova have not ceased their state service, no address for the nomination committee was provided, and the deadline was not observed.

A three-member Supreme Administrative Court committee decided on Monday that Dodev's plea was unfounded because he is not a candidate for president or vice-president, nor is he a member of a nomination committee.