In the less than 20 years since the advent of democracy opened the way for multi-party elections for mayor, Sofia has five times gone to the polls to decide whom to install as the capital citys first citizen. On October 28 this year, Sofians will decide who will be their 61st mayor.
The history of elections in the city reflects the history of the new democratic Bulgaria with all its blemishes. In the years since 1991, a predominant theme has been the clashes between the remodelled former communists and the new-style democrats.
Given that Sofia was the epicentre of Bulgarias change from communism to democracy, it was only natural for right-wing forces to hold the upper hand over the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), successor to the Bulgarian Communist Party. Sofia was seen as a right-wing bastion, the same as Plovdiv and the other major city in the country, Varna on the Black Sea.
From red to green
The first post-communist mayor of Sofia was Alexander Karakachanov, leader of the Green Party, at the time part of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). His appointment in 1990 was not a result of democratic elections, given that it was just a few months from the fall of communism and time was needed to arrange the holding of democratic elections.
Karakachanov, in fact, was part of Sofia's communist past; he had been a member of the city council before 1989. However, as one of the first to question the future of communist Bulgaria, he was seen as acceptable by both communists and democrats in 1990.
Karakachanov ruled for a year and his term today is remembered by many Sofians as the time when most of Sofia's streets and squares changed their names. This was a confusion that many Sofians still feel today, evidenced in the old names of places instead the new ones. Understandably,the names that were changed included Boulevard Lenin, today's Tsarigradsko Chausse. Today young Sofians are unlikely to know that Tsar Osovoboditel boulevard was once Rouski (Russian) boulevard, or Maria Louisa Boulevard previously went under the name of communist leader Georgi Dimitrov.
Karakachanov's short term in office will be remembered for something else. The privatisation of Sofia municipal property started with him. This was the first time when voices were raised about fixed public tenders and privatisation schemes that would later flourish during the term of mayor Stefan Sofianski. This scheme is today known by Sofians under the name zamenki (barter deals).
Green beats blue
The first democratic municipal elections in Bulgaria took place on October 13 1991. These first elections produced a trend that would become a pattern in the development of the right-wing in Bulgaria. As one of the founders of the UDF, Karakachanov fell into conflict with his fellow UDF followers and stood for elections alone supported only by his Green Party. The UDF nominated Alexander Yanchoulev, an architecture professor who was hardly a household name.
Yanchoulev was the first Sofia mayor to serve a full four-year term. In 1991 the anti-communist mood in Sofia was still strong, and Yanchoulev had no problem winning the post.
His management of the city earned him a place in the urban folklore that showed the best side of Sofians' humour. Not many public officials can proudly say that they have things named after them. It was the potholes that earned Yanchoulev his reputation as a mayor.
I name this pothole
In 1993, Sofias road network was in abysmal condition. For more than five years, because of the transition from communism to democracy, little if no money had been invested in new roads, and by 1993 the situation was close to falling into crisis. Yanchoulev's efforts to make a difference earned him the love of Sofians who nicknamed the potholes Yanchoulevki meaning Yanchoulev's potholes.
With the lack of resources, Yanchoulev introduced the trend of buying cheap second-hand buses from other European cities and using them in Sofia's public transport network. Indeed it was a substantial change for every passenger to see that there were other buses in the world besides the Hungarian-made Ikarus buses, but second-hand in this case meant buses that were produced in the mid-1980s. Some of these buses can still be seen in Sofia, making their way at what may kindly be called a sedate pace, and leaving a long dark trail behind them.
Yanchoulevs biggest blunder had to do with the water supply problems in 1994-1995. For most Sofians today, this is a grim recollection, against the backdrop of the severe winter of 1994. Ironically, Yanchoulev was actually a hydro architect. This, however, did not make him a good manager and despite the full Iskar dam, Sofians had water supply problems for almost a year.
Sofias watergate
At the time, Yanchoulev blamed the drought in 1994, but TV reports from Iskar showed that the dam was full enough. In the end, both Sofians and people from Yanchoulev's administration agreed that this was a straightforward example of poor water management.
Another fashion was started during Yanchoulev's term. Sofia was supposed to have a golf course and Yanchoulev dedicated a lot of time and effort to help the construction of a golf course in Sofia's Bankya neighbourhood, funded by the controversial Japanese Masako Oya. In 1992, the project was estimated to be of a value of $3 million. Despite the wide media coverage arranged by Yanchoulev, the project that was supposed to turn Bankya in to a luxurious golf and spa complex was not even started.
Another passion of Yanchoulev was Sofia's cultural heritage, and more precisely Sofia's communist past. Responding to the mood of 1993 when all of Bulgaria was swept by anti-communism emotions, Yanchoulev followed suit and announced that he intended tearing down the Soviet Army Monument, the one still to be seen today in the garden between Sofia University and Vassil Levski national stadium. Had Yanchoulev succeeded, he would have been the first mayor in Bulgaria to bring down the Soviet army. Again, as had happened with the water shortage, Yanchoulev turned out to be not quite familiar enough with the details. The monument was actually the property of the national government, not the municipality, and although Yanchoulev had workers already setting up their demolition equipment, they had to be withdrawn, to the amusement of Sofians.
That Sofianski smile
The episodes brought a moment of clarity for the UDF, and in the next municipal elections in 1995, they nominated Stefan Sofianski as their candidate. This was how an entire new period of Sofia's history started: the period that was to become known as the Sofianski era.
Sofianski is among the politicians who shaped Bulgarias post-communist development. He is the only senior elected official who has managed to win three consecutive elections. In the mid-1990s, Sofianski was perhaps the most loved and popular politician in the country, enjoying wide support and famous for his smile. He took full advantage of the fact that in 1995 the BSP government led the country into a deep economic crisis. Sofianski's victory in Sofia as the right-wing candidate was seen as only natural. Moreover, the BSP candidate was controversial banker Ventsislav Yosifov, owner of the now-former First Private Bank. He was advertised by the BSP as the candidate of business in Bulgaria, but the worsening financial and banking crisis took its toll and Yosifovs political cheque turned out to be a dud, together with BSP hopes of winning the city. Sofianski won by 57.60 per cent.
His popularity was so vast that Sofianski took a months leave to head a caretaker national government after the resignation of BSP prime minister Zhan Videnov in 1997. This was the year when everything was going the UDFs way. The party had a prime minister Ivan Kostov, a president Petar Stoyanov and a Sofia mayor in the person of Sofianski. This UDF monopoly allowed Sofianski to start and finish some of his projects that would later earn him a controversial reputation and several prosecutions. Several themes characterised Sofianski's era. The problem of Sofia's waste, the water network concession with Sofiiska Voda, the construction of the underground railway system, the arrival of the Hilton in Sofia and last but not least the famous barter deals done by the municipality-owned company Sofiiski Imoti.
The traffic problems left by Yanchoulev continued to be Sofia's biggest problem. Although Sofianski dedicated much effort to repairing roads and building new ones, little was done to limit the number of vehicles entering the city and almost nothing was done to solve the vehicle parking chaos everywhere. In terms of public transport, Sofianski indeed was the mayor who cut the ribbon of the first underground line in ulgaria in 1998, after 28 years of construction work, but nothing was done for the rest of the transport network.
That Sofianski smile 2
In 1999, Sofianskis popularity was untrammeled, and with UDF leader Kostov in his second year of his term, Sofianski had no option but to stand again.
It was another easy win for him. This time the BSP decided to use one of its own. The leader of the BSP in Sofia Roumen Ovcharov unwisely took up the challenge, only to suffer defeat. Sofianski won by an even wider margin than in 1995, or 68.95 per cent. Despite the win, however, this second term in office was the start of the end of Sofianski's popularity. It was when the barter deals involving municipal real estate became the symbol of Sofianski's rule, the same way that the potholes had been associated with Yanchoulev's term. Through a series of barter deals, the UDF-controlled municipality entered into hundreds of transactions with investors which, according to media reports, drained hundred of millions of leva from the city. This was enough for the Prosecutor-Generals office to start an investigation into Sofianski, with ensuing prosecutions, none of which is yet to result in a conviction.
That Sofianski smile 3
Further, Sofianski fell out with Kostov, and in 2003 decided to stand for a third term but this time supported only by his newly-formed party the Union of Free Democrats. Kostov, on the other hand, had lost the 2001 parliamentary elections to the party led by former Bulgarian king Simeon Saxe-Coburg and the decline of the right-wing was complete. These elections were the great chance of BSP, with the BSP coming close to victory. Again the BSP candidate was a banker, Stoyan Alexandrov, a respected financial expert who has never been close to any of the parties but the contender had a reputation as controversial as that of Yosifov. Faced with the real possibility of the BSP winning the right-wing fortress, as Kostov put it right-wing supporters today vote with disgust, referring to Sofianski. Sofianski won by just 53.78 per cent against Alexandrov's 46.22 per cent.
The refuseniks
The third term of Sofianski can be described in one word: refuse (the noun, not the verb).
Sofia is probably the only EU capital that lacks a refuse processing plant. In his 10 years as mayor, Sofianski failed to build such a plant and continued to fill the refuse site build in the times of communism when Sofia had a population of less than a million. In July 2005 the refuse site reached its limit and people living nearby blocked the road, calling for it to be closed as Sofianski had promised them earlier. This led to the second major crisis in Sofia after Yanchoulevs Watergate crisis in 1994. It became known as the refuse blockade. For more than a week, refuse bins remained full and the July heat helped to spread the stench. Sofianskis smile was gone, but then so was he at least from the mayors office. Two years before the end of his third term in office, Sofianski left the post voluntarily, winning a place in Parliament as an MP for his newly Union of Free Democrats. The refuse problems were left to his deputy, Minko Gerdjikov, who had to keep a lid on the situation until October when Sofians went to the polls to choose Sofianski's successor at the first-ever early mayoral elections.
Here comes the man in black
With the right-wing divided among themselves, the BSP was the only player from the past 10 years to fight for the Sofia's top prize. However, this time they had to confront the most popular public figure in Bulgaria, according to polling agencies: Boiko Borissov. In 2005 Borissov resigned as Interior Ministry chief secretary and entered politics. In the second round, his competition was BSP MP Tatyana Doncheva, known for her direct and aggressive style, which BSP media experts thought would be enough to beat Borissov. It did not happen that way. Borissov won the second round against Doncheva by 68.50 per cent against her 31.50 per cent with the lowest voter turnout ever. The once right-wing fortress was lost. The right-wings Svetoslav Gavriiski placed third.
Borissov's win was described by the media as the end of right-wing rule in Sofia. Indeed, Borissov had never been close to the UDF, but he had to work with the councillors inherited from Sofianski's time, because the elections had been held only to choose a mayor, not a new batch of councillors. This became the motto of Borissov for the next two years. As someone who had no party colleagues in the council, Borissov claimed he was often thwarted by them and there was little he could do.
On October 28, Borissov will be the one who will represent the past of Sofia since he will be the only former mayor of Sofia to stand at the elections. Whether he win the post again, as most polling agencies predict, will be decided by voters but with the record high number of candidates, surprises cannot be excluded. Whoever wins, however, will be faced with problems to which solutions have been delayed and postponed for years.
