Sofia braces for more elections
Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov is expected to become Bulgaria's next prime minister, opening the prospect for more elections in Sofia.
Borissov's party, the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated as GERB in Bulgarian), won about 41 per cent of the vote in the July 5 Parliament elections, according to exit polls. In his first interview after voting closed, Borissov said it would be "a dereliction of duty" if he did not become prime minister.
Borissov does not have to accept an MP seat to become prime minister, with the law stipulating that anyone eligible to stand for Parliament is eligible to head the cabinet.
The law on local elections says that whenever a mayor ends his term more than a year ahead of schedule, President Georgi Purvanov has to set a new date for early elections within 40 days.
Borissov said that although he was leaving the Sofia mayoral seat, he was not abandoning the capital, but ensuring that the city's problems would be solved because now Sofia authorities would not be impeded at every step by the cabinet.
Borissov's party, the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated as GERB in Bulgarian), won about 41 per cent of the vote in the July 5 Parliament elections, according to exit polls. In his first interview after voting closed, Borissov said it would be "a dereliction of duty" if he did not become prime minister.
Borissov does not have to accept an MP seat to become prime minister, with the law stipulating that anyone eligible to stand for Parliament is eligible to head the cabinet.
The law on local elections says that whenever a mayor ends his term more than a year ahead of schedule, President Georgi Purvanov has to set a new date for early elections within 40 days.
Borissov said that although he was leaving the Sofia mayoral seat, he was not abandoning the capital, but ensuring that the city's problems would be solved because now Sofia authorities would not be impeded at every step by the cabinet.