site.btaUPDATED Outgoing Socialist Party Chair Ninova: Leadership Dispute May Block Party's Entry in Elections Due

Outgoing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) chair Korneliya Ninova is concerned that her party may be unable to run in the October 27 early parliamentary elections because of her dispute with acting chair Atanas Zafirov.

"That is why we are taking measures under the law and the Election Code so as to ensure the party's full-fledged participation in the elections," she told a news briefing in front of the BSP headquarters here on Wednesday.

Ninova specified that she had authorized BSP National Council members Georgi Svilenski and Ivan Chenchev to take charge of the party's registration for entry into the elections and the registration of its candidate lists. "At the same time, as an outgoing chair I will not be involved in these processes," she added. 

"The BSP interim leadership cannot handle this problem, nor are their legitimated to do so because, according to the current status of the party [on its record in the register] I still represent it as an outgoing chair," Ninova said.

Ninova resigned after the BSP's dismal performance at the previous early elections but is challenging in court Zafirov's claim to be the rightful party leader. She recalled that a court hearing of the case is scheduled for September 9, while the deadline for registration of the candidate lists expires just two days later.

She recalled that a BSP National Council has decided that the party would run in a coalition in the upcoming elections but the format of the coalition and how many parties would be in it has not been specified. "We will do our best to comply with this decision, to have a coalition of parties," she said.

She said that all decision of the party's collective bodies and the requirements of the law would be observed.

Asked to comment the possible nomination of Sergei Stanishev for EU Commissioner, Ninova said that there is no decision to that effect by the National Council or the Executive Bureau. Asked if Stanishev - a former Prime Minister, Party of the European Socialists President and MEP - would be a good candidate for the job, she said, "This is up to the party's collective body to decide. If you are asking for my personal opinion, he would not."

She answered in the negative to the question about whether she is preparing for the party elections for the leader's position. She said that the campaign has been postponed because of the upcoming snap general elections by a decision of the National Council and the new party leader will likely be elected after the October 27 elections.

Asked if she would run for Parliament, she said it is up to the party structures to nominate her.