site.btaPolitical Leaders Vote in Sunday Runoffs: Kornelia Ninova

After casting her ballot in a Sofia school in the local election runoff on Sunday, Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova told journalists: "I voted to see that, starting tomorrow, Sofia is governed in a different way, transparently, with decisions made in front of Sofianites, not somewhere in the dark."

She added that she voted for a clean, orderly, safe and peaceful Sofia, a socially sensitive municipal government and a city in which the people living on the outskirts have the same living conditions as those in the city centre.

Ninova described the low turnout in the two rounds of voting as a bad sign. "The apathy and the reluctance to vote are lending our institutions low legitimacy. Huge efforts will be needed to restore public confidence in the voting process," she said.

"Go out and vote for the candidate you like, just do it!" she urged Bulgarians.

Asked to comment on last Sunday's tampering with ballots, Ninova said everyone who has compromised the fair election process must be held responsible or even criminally liable.