site.btaPresident on Local Self-Governance Day: Local Communities Should Be Given More Options to Determine Their Priorities

In an address on the occasion of Bulgarian Municipality and Local Self-Governance Day, President Rumen Radev called for a legislative solution to the financial decentralization that municipalities have been requesting for years, so that local communities would have more options to independently determine their priorities. He also called on the citizens to hear the ideas presented during the ongoing campaign for the local elections and vote for the most worthy candidates, the head of State's press secretariat reported Thursday.

"The direct elections for mayors and municipal councilors are a huge responsibility for anyone claiming readiness to uphold the interests of their fellow citizens, to modernize their city and settlement but also to preserve and develop the traditions of education, culture and our identity," Radev said.

"Local authorities are the closest to citizens' problems, and they expect from municipal administrations competence, compassion, and speed in solving pressing issues, protection of the public interest, honest and open governance. That is a huge responsibility and a daily test for suitability where actions and fulfilled commitments weigh more than beautiful promises," he also said.