The "severe clash of ideas" that the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) presidential candidate Georgi Purvanov promised last week started with the official opening of the campaign on October 12, when those running for president and vice-president addressed the electorate on Bulgarian National Television.

"Bulgaria needs a socially engaged president and if you trust me, I will change the way this institution works," Purvanov said in his address. "The incumbent president was an inseparable part of the rule of UDF. He bears a direct responsibility for the failure of Kostov's regime, for the robbing of the country. He, in his own way, held the umbrella over the corrupted," Purvanov added.

Last Thursday, Purvanov challenged President Petar Stoyanov to a public television debate. Purvanov said that Stoyanov could send his press secretary Neri Terzieva to speak for him, if he was afraid.

The current legislation, however, excludes independent candidates from national television debates. One day after the challenge, the incumbent president expressed his readiness to participate in a debate on the air of private media.

"Stoyanov is the only candidate conducting a positive campaign and, being a consensus figure, he is not going to deal with any party or movement to attract their votes," said Liuben Dilov Jr., leader of the Gergiovden Movement and deputy head of the Stoyanov-Nelly Kutskova pre-election centre.

Dilov added that the presidential elections would not be boring and were not already decided. According to him, in the opposition, Purvanov has reached agreement with the rest of the candidate presidents for an "all against Stoyanov" campaign.

In his national television address last Friday, Stoyanov said that for all bad words in the presidential campaign, he would respond with good words. He also said that his independent candidacy does not mean that he is avoiding responsibility or liability.

"On the contrary," he said. "Today I again declare in front of you that I will continue the policy I have been conducting from the first day of my first election campaign - a policy fostering the Bulgarian democratic institutions, developing social market economy and supporting the Bulgarian small and medium business and agriculture."

"The current president enters the race as `independent,'" Purvanov said in his national television address. "But I am dependent, dependent on my electorate, dependent on their tough problems."

An uprising similar to the January 1997 mass demonstrations and protests against the then socialist government in front of the Parliament building will follow if Stoyanov is re-elected for a second mandate, the BSP leader said on Monday in Bourgas.

Purvanov expected that there will be a second round of elections and it will be the winning round for him and vice-presidential candidate General Angel Marin. "We start with the confidence of winners," he said, when the two officially opened their campaign last week.

Previous presidential elections have been decided during the second round between candidates of the UDF and BSP. This year's race, however, registers a record low level of participation. Twenty-two candidate couples were registered for the elections in 1992, and 13 five years ago.

The November 11 tickets will bear the names of only six pairs of candidates.