Presidential, mayoral runoff elections begin in Bulgaria

Presidential, mayoral runoff elections begin in Bulgaria

Bulgarians went to the polls on Sunday for presidential and mayoral runoff elections.

More than 11,300 polling stations across the Bulgaria opened at 6 a.m. local time and will stay open until 7 p.m. local time.

Almost 6.934 million are the eligible voters for the presidential runoff and 6.515 million for the mayoral elections. The difference comes from the rule that only citizens who have permanent and current address registration in Bulgaria may vote in the mayoral elections.

Although the Bulgarian President is perceived by many as a ceremonial figure, his post is aspired by all parties in the country because he appoints one-third of the judges in the Constitutional Court, and approves and removes high state officials, such as the higher command of the Armed Forces and the heads of the country's diplomatic missions abroad.

Rosen Plevneliev, 47, the candidate of the ruling GERB party, led in the first round on October 23 with 1,349,380 votes -- 40.11 percent of the valid votes.

He faces his coeval Ivaylo Kalfin, a candidate of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, who got 28.96 percent, or 974,300 of the votes.

All opinion polls have given Plevneliev some 10 percent lead over Kalfin at the runoff.

Plevneliev said after he voted that he voted for European development of Bulgaria, while Kalfin said he voted for adjustment of the priorities of the parliament and the government.

Meanwhile, runoffs are held for mayors of 18 district centers, 173 mayors of municipalities and 831 mayors of mayoralties.

The first exit polls will be announced immediately after polls close, the official results are expected to be released on Wednesday, and the new president will take office in January next year.


Editor: Yamei Wang

English.news.cn   2011-10-30 19:38:30