In the elections held on October 29, 2023, the residents of Velingrad municipality sent 6 parties and 2 local coalitions to the new Municipal Council and elected Kostadin Koev (GERB) for a third mayoral term.
Once again, as after the previous two local elections, the majority is held by the “old” councilors—those who have one or more mandates in the Velingrad Municipal Council, according to an analysis by the regional publication “Tempo.” The ratio is 13 new to 16 “old” councilors.
The composition of the new local council is quite colorful, with a strong predominance of businessmen, employees, and relatives of businessmen, as well as close associates of influential figures in the municipality.
How did the parties and coalitions perform in the vote for the most important body of local self-government?
GERB – Velingrad once again left no room for doubt that the party structure is a well-oiled and effective voting machine.
The list led by mayoral candidate Kostadin Koev received 4,699 votes: 2,167 in the polling stations in Velingrad and 2,532 in the stations in the villages. This impressive result gives GERB 11 seats in the new Municipal Council.
Compared to the 2019 elections, the party lost 777 votes, but it maintains its 11 mandates, which not only guarantee its stable presence but also make it an indispensable factor in the Municipal Council.
In the 2023-2027 term, GERB will have five experienced councilors (Lyubomir Perchinkov, Idris Pashaliev, Dimitar Gechev, Tsvetanka Popova, Georgi Navyakov) and six new ones (Angel Simeonov, Ahmed Nalbantov, Veselina Sotirova, Penka Krusteva, Petar Markov, Salih Boshnakov).
The named list of GERB councilors indicates a very serious presence and future influence of certain local business circles.
In second place in terms of the number of votes for the Municipal Council is the Local Coalition SSD/BZNS, led by mayoral candidate Radoslav Dimov. The 1,950 votes they received secure the coalition 5 mandates, which are shared among three “old” councilors and two new ones.
Continuing their activities as councilors will be Radoslav Dimov, who was the only independent councilor in the previous term, and Evgeny Yankulov and Emil Molov, who left the GERB group after the controversial decision to change the director of the municipal hospital. The new faces are Stefan Malinov and Vasil Tortev.
For the municipal structure of DPS, the 2023 elections for the Municipal Council registered the weakest performance to date. From 2,936 votes in 2019, DPS’s list garnered only 1,844 this time, a decrease of 1,092 votes.
The mandates also fell—from 6 in the previous Municipal Council to only four now. These will be distributed among three “old” councilors (Mustafa Eyupov, Plamen Hadzhiev, and Zlaty Lyotin) and one new one (Ibrahim Musa).
Even at the registration of candidates for local government, DPS was left without its own mayoral candidate to “pull” the councilor list. The pre-election campaign of DPS in our municipality, unlike in previous years and other municipalities, was unusually unnoticed—without posters or billboards for the candidates, and without the traditional visit from the party leadership. For the first time, DPS remained in the shadow of other political forces that garnered many votes from the villages in the municipality: GERB, PP-DB, ITN, and ZNS.
The first participation of ITN in local elections brought the party 1,604 votes and 4 mandates in the Velingrad Municipal Council.
It is debatable whether this result is solely due to supporters of ITN, as the councilors entering are individuals who, in the previous local council, ran under the registration of another party—Glas Naroden. If we compare the results, the number of voters remains stable: 1,822 votes for Glas Naroden in 2019 and 1,604 votes for ITN in 2023. Now, two new councilors are entering—Vela Veleva and Musa Rahim, who in 2019 relinquished his won mandate to Todor Ushev. Two councilors from the previous Municipal Council are also returning (Todor Ushev, Antonio Velev), when the group identified itself as the most active advocate for a change in the management of the municipal hospital.
The Agricultural National Union (ZNS) retains two mandates in the Velingrad Municipal Council, a party that was long led by the murdered councilor Ekaterina Kaferinova in the previous term.
In the new Municipal Council from ZNS, Alexander Daskalov continues his career as a municipal councilor, along with the new councilor Atanas Rangelov.
With 639 votes, Continuing the Change – Democratic Bulgaria receives only one mandate in the Velingrad Municipal Council. At first glance, this result can be seen as a breakthrough in local government, where the “blues” have not had a presence for a long time. However, it can also be viewed as a loss for PP, as they participated in local elections for the first time, and expectations were for a more convincing performance. From the PP-DB list in the local council, Rahim Engyak enters. In the previous two terms, he served as a councilor from a local coalition, and now he managed to secure a preferential vote to surpass the list leader and mayoral candidate from PP-DB, Dancho Gurdev.
The Local Coalition The Left/ZS “Alexander Stamboliyski” also enters the Velingrad Municipal Council, having received the support of 525 voters. The local coalition will be represented by the list leader Nadezhda Klyuchkova, who was previously a councilor from NDSV.
Once again, as in 2019, the list of VMRO-BND has achieved the lowest result, securing a mandate with only 475 votes—just 8 votes above the municipal electoral quota, which turned out to be crucial for the configuration in the local parliament. Previously, Alexander Gagov served as a councilor, and now his brother Dimitar Gagov will take his place.
Four parties fell below the municipal electoral quota of 467 votes, which guarantees entry into the Municipal Council.
For Vazrazhdane, this was their first participation in local elections. The list led by mayoral candidate Ivan Marinov received 409 votes and did not meet the expectations of becoming a factor in local government.
The vote dealt a heavy blow to the municipal structure of BSP, whose list led by Vensko Bozev garnered only 354 ballots and, for the first time, remained without a single mandate in the Velingrad Municipal Council.
The Movement Forward Bulgaria, led by Angel Daskalov, received only 111 votes, while Bulgarian Voice, led by Iskra Velkova, secured 33 votes.
The distribution of power in the new Velingrad Municipal Council is clear, and the possible majorities of 15 and 20 votes that will support the management decisions in the third term of GERB mayor Kostadin Koev are visible.
The first meeting of the new Municipal Council for the swearing-in ceremony and the oath-taking of the mayor of Velingrad, the councilors, and the mayors of the villages will take place on November 13 (Monday) at 1:00 PM in the building of the Velingrad Municipality.
