site.btaBulgaria's President Must Be Staunch Democrat, Unyielding in Fight against Corruption - DB Chair

Democratic Bulgaria Chair and Deputy Parliament Chair Atanas Atanassov said here on Friday that it is extremely important that the upcoming presidential elections in 2026 are won by a person who is a staunch democrat and uncompromising in the fight against corruption. The leader of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party said that the party's national leadership has decided to invite its partners (Continue the Change, the Forum for Democratic Action circle, and Yes, Bulgaria) to a forum at which a strategic agreement will be adopted to nominate a joint candidate for the 2026 presidential elections.

According to him, a joint appearance will help attract people from the periphery of the country's democratic community. Atanassov said that the option of selecting a candidate after preliminary elections will be discussed. He recalled that the DSB has a good example of such a vote between Zhelyu Zhelev (president between 1997 and 2002) and Peter Stoyanov (president between 1990 and 1997). At that time, a broad group of democratically minded people was attracted from the periphery, Atanassov pointed out.

The Democratic Bulgaria Chair said that the two terms of the current head of State, Rumen Radev, have in a sense turned the country towards the East. That is why it is extremely important that the person elected to lead the country next year—as president and commander-in-chief—be a staunch democrat and Euro-Atlanticist, Atanassov said. The forum should be held no later than Christmas.

Radan Kanev MEP (Group of the European People's Party/DSB) said that the president must be a person with a very clear pro-European and Atlantic position. He stressed that a potential joint candidacy nominated by the main ruling party, GERB-UDF, and the main opposition force is a completely unrealistic political option. "Our views, at least at the declarative level, on European and Atlantic policy may coincide, but on how power should be exercised within Bulgaria, they are fundamentally different. It is no longer just a matter of discussing an institutional crisis, but rather the complete collapse of the State, for which the ruling party bears responsibility."