site.btaSocialist Party Calls Congress on February 4-5

Socialist Party Calls Congress on February 4-5

Sofia, November 26 (BTA) - The National Council of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) decided Saturday to schedule a party congress for February 4-5, BSP leader Kornelia Ninova told a news briefing. Commissions were set up Saturday to prepare the party platform for the early general elections early next year and write a new statute of BSP.

The draft statute is due to be ready in December and be put up for discussion by the party structures in January.

Ninova believes that the number of terms a Socialist can be in Parliament should be limited and her personal view is that three terms should be the maximum.

She said that she is not downplaying the experience of MPs who have sit in the legislature long terms. "I believe, however, that people's expectations are for rejuvenation of the parties in this direction as well," she added.

The BSP leadership is determined to apply strictly the two-terms-only rule for the party leader.

Ninova believes that a special commission in the party should analyze the relations with the partners in the BSP-Left Bulgaria coalition and propose a new coalition format for the upcoming snap elections.

She argued that it is wrong when partner parties run together with BSP in general elections and then have their own candidates at local elections who often "play against the Socialist candidates".

Ninova said that the BSP National Council has adopted a decision to support a mixed election system including both proportional and majoritarian representation.

The party will ask the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Sofia University and research units to prepare options of a mixed election system to both comply with the will of the people for stronger majoritarian representation and ensure the smooth operation of the state institutions.

The BSP National Council named three new members of the Executive Bureau: Stoyan Mirchev, Ivan Chenchev and Vyara Yordanova.