site.btaUPDATED BSP Municipal Councilors Will Not Support Boris Bonev for Sofia Municipal Council Chair

At Monday's session of Sofia Municipal Council (SMC), the BSP for Bulgaria municipal councilors will not support Boris Bonev for the chairmanship of the council, BSP Deputy Floor Leader Georgi Svilenski told reporters after talks with newly-elected Sofia Mayor of Vassil Terziev on Saturday.

Svilenski recalled that the meeting was at the invitation of Terziev, which was extended to all leaders of parties and coalitions represented in the SMC.

On Saturday, Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova was in Shumen for a regional meeting with BSP-elected mayors and municipal councilors, so the BSP Executive Bureau decided to have the party's Deputy Chair Irena Anastasova, and Deputy Floor Leader Svilenski participate in the meeting.

The BSP representatives explained to Terziev their party's decision to first present the problems of the capital city, Svilenski pointed out. There was no talk of positions, chairmen of committees, composition of committees, deputy mayors, directors, he said.

Svilenski pointed out that at the very beginning of the conversation, the BSP representatives told Boris Bonev from Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (Save Sofia) that they would not support him for the position of SMC chair. The responsibility for this rests with the party that won the majority, the politician argued.

It is extremely important that they quickly find a solution to this issue, because the budget of Sofia Municipality is to be looked over and adopted by the end of the year, Svilenski stressed.

He added that the BSP for Bulgaria nominee for SMC chair will be Diana Tonova. 

"I appeal to all the municipal councilors to find a way to start the work of the municipal council, to start dismantling the GERB model, because a large part of the municipal councilors entered with these intentions. That is their responsibility. We know ours, we have said what we will do, how we will do it, we will give suggestions and solutions. From Monday, our municipal councilors will start submitting reports on all problems," said Svilenski.

When asked if there were any behind-the-scenes conversations between Boris Bonev and BSP leader Korneliya Ninova, Svilenski said he did not know about such. Bonev has been a municipal councilor for four years, before that he was a representative of a civil association. "He is as much a public figure as we are, and probably each of us at some point had some conversations, but they cannot be called behind-the-scenes," explained Svilenski.