site.btaSocialist Leader Resigns after Loss of European Elections

114 POLITICS - SOCIALISTS - LEADER - RESIGNATION - amplified

Socialist Leader Resigns
after Loss of
European Elections


Sofia, May 28 (BTA) - Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Chair Kornelia Ninova submitted her resignation to the BSP's policy-making National Council on Tuesday, participants in a National Council meeting said. Ninova called for a snap congress of the party to launch a procedure for the election of a new BSP leader by direct vote of all party members.

The Socialist leader's resignation follows Sunday's election of Bulgarian members to the European Parliament, in which the BSP, the main opposition force in the country, placed second by a wide margin behind the ruling GERB.

The BSP National Council convened on Tuesday to analyze the results of the Socialists' performance in the European elections and to consider future measures, including launching a procedure to elect a new party chair and ending the BSP's three-month boycott of the National Assembly sittings.

The BSP press office quoted Ninova as telling the National Council: "In democratic parties, in law-governed states, in modern society, the responsibility is always borne by the leader. Therefore, I assume full responsibility for this loss. I am submitting my resignation as Chairperson of the BSP."

This implies a reversal of Ninova's position as expressed on April 15, when she said she would not be personally responsible for her party's performance in the European elections because the list of the party's election candidates approved by the BSP National Council was different from what she had proposed. "The responsibility for the election results will rest with the National Council," she said back then.

On Tuesday, Ninova proposed that the BSP hold a congress within 15 days from now to validate her resignation. In the meantime, the BSP should start a campaign for nominating candidates for the leader's post and adopt rules for electing the new leader, she said. According to her, the leader's election should be carried out by direct vote of all party members in accordance with the new BSP Statute. She expects the election to be completed by the end of July.

Until two years ago, the BSP chair used to be elected by congress. In 2017, on a proposal by Ninova, the BSP congress decided to change the procedure by introducing direct voting by all party members. The internal opposition in the BSP disagrees with Ninova's idea for direct election and is likely to insist on a return to the old rules.

In her comment on Tuesday, Ninova further said: "Yes, we lost the elections, but we should also acknowledge the good things we have accomplished. It is a fact that we are the only party [in Bulgaria] to see an increase in the absolute number of votes cast in its favour during the European elections: they increased by more than 30,000. It is also a fact that all other parties, from the biggest to the smallest, lost votes compared with the previous European elections. It is a fact that we are the only ones to win a larger number of seats in the European Parliament: one more than last time. I hope this boosts your self-confidence and pride."

"Yes, we know that it is hard to bring down an authoritarian government," Ninova also said, obviously implying that the ruling GERB would have been forced to give up the reigns of the national government if they lost the European elections. "The whole machinery of government was used against us, the media, the analysts, the buying of votes, the fear, and the ordering of civil servants how to vote." Even so, GERB earned only about 500,000 votes, she added.

BSP for Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Anton Koutev said: "There are serious changes we need to make and they will involve amending the party statute and replacing our leader. These are things that should be decided by the National Council and perhaps the congress if a congress is held. I have no doubt that change is necessary."

Koutev commented that these elections were a failure for the BSP. In his words, the documents elaborated during the preparations for the elections read that the party's goal was to garner one vote more than GERB, which was obviously not achieved.

He described the BSP's decision to not attend the National Assembly sittings as a "serious political mistake", and added that the party should return to the plenary chamber.

Kristian Vigenin, Secretary of the BSP for Bulgaria parliamentary group, commented that this is not the time for the party to elect a new chairperson, because local elections are coming and this might divert the BSP's attention.

Georgi Pirinski, who was MEP of the Socialists in the last European Parliament, commented that given the party's loss in the elections, the mistakes made by the BSP are serious. Asked whether the voters passed censure on Ninova by voting preferentially for former BSP leader and Party of European Socialists President Sergei Stanishev, Pirinski said that Ninova was "seriously corrected."

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, BSP National Council members who are considered to be the internal opposition in the BSP demanded resignations and called for a congress of the party in the wake of what they see as a loss in the European Parliament elections.

"There should be a meeting of the regular congress to discuss the situation and accept the resignations of the party's current leadership," Atanas Merdzhanov told reporters. In his words, the fact that the National Council was convened on Tuesday, when the final results of the elections were still unclear, means that someone is in a hurry to minimize their political responsibility by shifting it onto the BSP's grassroots structures.

Georgi Gergov, regional chairman of the BSP in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria), told reporters that the party's grassroots chapters cannot be blamed for the election loss; it is the leadership that should. LY/IG/VE/DS
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