site.bta18 Regional Capitals in Bulgaria Vote for Mayors in Second Round of Elections

ESD 08:00:01 03-11-2019
PP1843ES.102 08:00
102 POLITICS - LOCAL ELECTIONS - SECOND ROUND

18 Regional Capitals
Vote for Mayors in Second Round
of Elections


Sofia, November 3 (BTA) - On Sunday, the residents of 18 regional capitals in Bulgaria, including Sofia, are electing municipality mayors in a second round of voting.

The run-off is limited to the top two vote getters in municipalities, mayoralties and boroughs where none of the contestants received more than 50 per cent of the valid votes cast in the first round a week ago. The candidate who gains the most valid votes in the second round will be elected mayor.

In Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova is seeking a fourth term and faces a run-off election (against Socialist-backed independent Maya Manolova) for the first time after a 10-year tenure. So far, Fandakova's GERB party has won the mayoral elections in the capital city even in the first round since 2005.

Of all 24 boroughs of Sofia, only Bankya and Kremikovtsi had a mayor elected in the first round last Sunday.

Of the nine regional capitals with municipality mayors elected even in the first round, GERB won eight (Bourgas, Veliko Turnovo, Kyustendil, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Montana, Stara Zagora and Haskovo) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms one (Kurdjali).

Countrywide, second-round voting is held in 105 municipalities (out of a total of 265), 441 mayoralties (out of 1,968), and 31 boroughs (out of 35): 22 in Sofia (out of 24), 5 in Plovdiv (out of 6), and 4 in Varna (out of 5). In 196 municipalities, a run-off election is conducted in at least one settlement. Balloting is taking place in 7,012 voting sections and 152 mobile sections. Law and order on polling day is enforced by some 9,000 police officers. LG