site.bta Borissov: "Election Results Oblige GERB to Form Cabinet"

Borissov: "Election Results Oblige GERB to Form Cabinet"

Sofia, March 27 (BTA) - Speaking at the GERB Party headquarters in Sofia shortly after exit polls showed that his formerly ruling party had won the most votes in Sunday's early parliamentary elections, GERB leader and two-time prime minister Boyko Borissov said that these results impose on his party an obligation to form a cabinet. He thanked all Bulgarians who voted for GERB. "We have a clear victory. The votes reconfirm that GERB should be the leading party in government," Borissov said.

Borissov triggered these elections when his cabinet resigned in November 2016 after the GERB candidate lost the presidential elections.

Borissov congratulated the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and its leader Kornelia Ninova on being "a worthy opponent and waging a tough campaign battle". He also offered his admirations to the voters who backed all other parties.

"Judging by the results, GERB is obliged to form a cabinet. Any other scenario would take us back to the Plamen Oresharski era," Borissov said, referring to a short-lived and highly controversial government which came down following massive street protests in 2013.

Borissov said that GERB's Executive Commission is meeting on Monday to look at the final results and plan consultations with the other parties but was unspecific. "We will make utmost efforts - I hope with few concessions, because they were a lot last time, on the basis of the platforms, to negotiate with potential partners, when we see who they are, after the final results are known, to form a cabinet which will live up to people's expectations," he said.

He declined to answer whether Ninova will be invited to negotiate. Nor did he say if there is any party with which GERB would not negotiate.

Borissov said that the right wing in Bulgaria, the parties affiliated to the European People's Party, won a clear victory over the parties of the Left.

Borissov was reluctant to comment on anything that his possible government will do but did say that in its foreign policy it will not allow interference in this country's internal affairs.

"We have a rare chance of holding the EU Council Presidency. In the months after January 1, 2018, we need a stable government and a stable opposition," the GERB leader said. He added that the situation is so complex that "we will do our best to have a united nation".

He also said that, as GERB has promised, the party will propose legislative amendments to introduce a majoritarian system for the next parliamentary elections.

Declining numerous questions from reporters, Borissov said he will meet with the media to answer all their questions in the coming days after the final election results come out and are analyzed by his party.

BSP's Kornelia Ninova: "We Are on the Right Track"

In a statement at the BSP headquarters, leader Kornelia Ninova said that her has doubled its performance from the last parliamentary elections. "We reconfirmed the result from the first round of voting in the presidential elections, when the party vote counts. This proved that we are on the right track, and we will continue to work for the change we have started," Ninova said.

She congratulated GERB on their victory but said if they invite her party to talks, they will decline participation in a coalition government. "We have said that out platforms are completely different, that we offer an alternative to GERB and we want to change the status quo. We will deliver on our promises," she said.

Ninova did not take questions from the press. She said that when the final results are known, the BSP will hold a news conference and answer all questions.

Following are the remarks of leaders of the other parties which are tipped to enter Parliament or to closely miss it:

MRF's Mustafa Karadayi: "Bulgaria Needs Value-Based Majority"

"One thing is clear at this point, based on the interim election results: we have to congratulate GERB and BSP on their performance, but we want to congratulate all Bulgarian citizens who participated and those who wanted to but were unable to," Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader Mustafa Karadayi said at his party's headquarters.

"In order to have stability, Bulgaria needs a value-based majority with similar platforms of the participating parties. "

Asked about his party's foreign policy stance, Karadayi said the MRF has always stood for, and will stand for, the independence of the Bulgarian political system and the its players.

United Patriots' Valeri Simeonov: "Somewhat Disappointed"

"I am somewhat disappointed, we expected more," United Patriots co-leader Valeri Simeonov said on Bulgarian National Television. "It is not certain that the United Patriots will participate in the government, if GERB asks them to, or will only offer their support in Parliament as in the previous legislature."

"The United Patriots will expect to seal their partnership with GERB by a programme agreement reflecting the United Patriots' platform priorities."

"The United Patriots would be proud to oust the MRF from its position as 'the eternal third' in Parliament," Simeonov said.

Commenting on the longevity of the United Patriots coalition, he noted: "We get along well, but life is a complex thing."

Volya's Vesselin Mareshki: "Black PR, Fake News Put Off Voters"

"Volya and I were most attacked by black PR and fake news throughout the campaign. This demotivated quite a few of the voters and they did not go to the polls," Volya leader Vesselin Mareshki wrote in a statement for the media. "If we are in opposition, we will be shedding light on the problems, the thefts, the lawlessness in all spheres. If we are part of a coalition, we will carry out our programme: fighting the cartels, supporting small and medium-sized business, keeping young people in Bulgaria."

Reformist Bloc-People's Voice's Peter Moskov: "Right Unable to Learn Lessons"

"The votes cast for the coalition give us a hope that the Right wing will be represented in the next Parliament, but this will remain unclear until all votes are counted," said Peter Moskov of the Reformist Bloc - People's Voice Coalition.

"The reason why we are having this conversation is that once again the Right wing proved unable to learn its lessons [and unite]."

"I am not surprised [by the result], but we put Right-wing urban voters in an impossible situation [of having to choose among three entities], and we owe them an apology."

Yes, Bulgaria's Hristo Ivanov: "We Can Attract New Votes"

"I am hopeful because Yes, Bulgaria showed that its is the most dynamic new player in Bulgarian democratic space. We demonstrated that we can attract new votes," Yes, Bulgaria leader Hristo Ivanov said on Nova Television.

Asked whether voting abroad could help his coalition clear the 4 per cent barrier Parliament, Ivanov said that "such a scenario exists, but we should wait for the final results". "There will be bargaining and dramas, but GERB will succeed in forming a government," he said.

DOST Alliance's Evgeni Mihailov: "All Played against DOST"

"We have witnessed a restoration of communism," DOST Alliance MP candidate Evgeni Mihailov commented on Nova Television. "Regardless of whether DOST crosses the 4 per cent threshold or not, these elections must not be recognized as legitimate. Everybody else played against DOST: 20 [parties and coalitions] against 1, including by violating the constitutional rights of Bulgarian citizens.

In his words, the best thing that DOST achieved was that they deprived [MRF Honorary Chairman Ahmed] Dogan and [alleged media mogul Delyan] Peevski of one-third of the possibility to run the country through their companies.

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Even though an International Press Centre for the March 26 elections was fully equipped and operational at the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), with logistics in place and journalists accredited, none of the leaderships of the parties and coalitions running for parliament in 2017 appeared for an election night news conference there.