site.btaABV Coalition Announces Top-of-the-List Candidates for October Elections

Sofia, August 15 (BTA) - The ABV Coalition will run in the early parliamentary elections, on October 5, in a format uniting the ABV party, the United Labour Bloc-Bulgarian Labourists, the Liberals Bulgarian Party and the Active Civil Society Federation, said the ABV leader and former president (2002-2012) Georgi Purvanov at a BTA news conference on Friday.

Purvanov presented some of the top-of-the-list candidates, among them former foreign minister and MEP Ivaylo Kalfin, former chief of general staff Gen. Miho Mihov, and the singer, Nikolina Chakardakova.

"The list is colourful, diverse in its age composition, above all youthful," said Purvanov. The former president will not run for an MP, because in his words "it is not suitable for a recent head of state to be an MP." He added that he will participate actively in politics and give his best, so that radical changes can happen, but will not commit to specific offices.

Purvanov said that ABV has organized a survey, consisting of eleven questions which pertain to the revival of statehood. So far 47,000 answers have been received. The highest support is shown for the proposals about civil control over parties, the active demographic policy, the idea for establishing an independent agency for fighting high-level corruption, he noted.

The former president explained that ABV's goal is to become a factor to reckon with in the next parliament and the country's governance. "Not allowing an autocratic leadership of the country is very important," Purvanov said.

Commenting the caretaker Cabinet's work, ABV Executive Council member and former interior minister Roumen Petkov described as disturbing the appointment of a Justice Minister, who has been expelled from the Bulgarian Bar Association, along with placing Vanyo Tanov at the helm of the Customs Agency, who, according to Petkov,  has been sentenced by the Varna Administrative Court on April 5, 2012.