site.btaVazrazhdane Leader Says High Voter Turnout on Oct. 27 Will Make Party Leading Political Force

Speaking at an election campaign event in the village of Koilovtsi, Pleven Region, on Thursday, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said that if voter turnout in the October 27 snap parliamentary election is high, his party will become the largest political force.

In his words, in case of low voter turnout, Vazrazhdane will become the second largest political force.

"Our goal is not to become the second largest force and simply enter Parliament for the fifth time, but to govern. If we do not govern, our country will disappear in a few years. We need to be governed by people who can say no, know what they want to achieve, and have a vision of where Bulgaria will be in 20 years," Kostadinov said.

"I wanted to put to the vote in Parliament a plan addressing the demographic catastrophe. It should have a special policy for rural regions. If we do not restore and preserve the demographic potential, Bulgaria will disappear. Currently, 40% of our country is a demographic desert," the Vazrazhdane leader added.

He noted that 57,000 foreigners settled in Bulgaria last year, adding that their total number will grow to a million in 10 years. "We are losing 100,000 people a year from natural negative population growth. In 10 years' time, we will become a minority in our own country," Kostadinov said.

The Vazrazhdane leader visited Koilovtsi to support the party's candidate for mayor in the village, Elena Kirilova, who will run in the local by-elections on October 20.