The coalition ‘DPS – New Beginning’ won the most votes in the Shumen region during yesterday’s extraordinary parliamentary elections. The data comes from the District Election Commission, with 100% of the protocols from the sectional commissions processed.
The coalition of Delian Peevski, who is sanctioned under the global ‘Magnitsky’ law by the United States and the United Kingdom, received 24.94% of the votes (13,516 votes). The majority of these votes came from four small municipalities in Deliormana, referred to as ‘bastions’ of DPS, whose mayors remained loyal to Peevski after the party split. The municipalities of Varbitsa, Nikola Kozlevo, Kaolinovo, and Venets mobilized over 10,600 votes for ‘DPS – New Beginning,’ according to the data from the District Election Commission. Peevski’s voters primarily used paper ballots—84% of all voters.
In second place in the Shumen region are GERB-SDS with 17.68% (9,582 votes), with 6,392 of them cast on paper.
Third are ‘Prodaljavame promianata – Democratic Bulgaria’ with 12.15% (6,582 votes), of which 4,167 were cast on paper.
Vazrazhdane is in fourth place with 11.12% (6,024 votes), of which 3,467 were on paper.
The coalition around Ahmed Dogan, ‘Alliance for Rights and Freedoms,’ is in fifth place with 11.03% (5,977 votes), with 5,336 of those being paper ballots.
Next is ‘BSP – United Left’ with 7.71% (4,180 votes), with 2,937 of them on paper.
In seventh place is ‘There is Such a People’ with 5.05% (2,737 votes).
For PP Velichie, 3.93% voted (2,127 votes).
The party MECh has 3.83% (2,073 votes).
The remaining parties participating in the elections received less than 1% of the votes in the Shumen region.
Which Parties Increased Their Results in Shumen?
‘DPS – New Beginning’ and the coalition surrounding Ahmed Dogan have collectively garnered more votes compared to the previous parliamentary elections held on June 9. At that time, the unified DPS secured 15,861 votes in the Shumen region, whereas the two factions now total 19,493 votes—an increase of over 3,600.
The coalition ‘We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria’ has also seen a significant rise in its results. In the last elections, 4,954 voters in the region supported this coalition, and it has now achieved 6,582 votes, marking an increase of more than 1,600 votes.
‘Vazrazhdane’ has similarly boosted its support, rising from 5,491 votes on June 9 to 6,024 in the most recent elections.
Moreover, ‘BSP – United Left’ has grown from 3,699 to 4,180 votes, reflecting a positive trend in their backing.
GERB has also increased its vote count, receiving approximately 300 more votes than on June 9—up from 9,276 votes then to 9,582 votes now.
In the previous elections in June, the Shumen region recorded a historically low voter turnout of 27.2%. Yesterday, this figure saw a slight increase to 30.9%.
Peevski’s Municipalities
The municipalities in Shumen controlled by the DPS have transformed from “Dogans’ strongholds” into “Peevski’s bastions,” as local mayors demonstrated their loyalty to ‘DPS – New Beginning.’
In Sunday’s elections, these municipalities reported a record turnout for Delian Peevski’s party.
The standout municipality was Varbitsa, where a remarkable 84% of voters cast their ballots for ‘DPS – New Beginning.’ The voter turnout in this municipality was 39.8%, one of the highest in the region. In contrast, the coalition surrounding Ahmed Dogan received a mere 6.27%, or 277 votes.
Following Varbitsa, Nikola Kozlevo recorded a substantial 73.5% of votes in favor of ‘DPS – New Beginning.’ With a voter turnout of 43%—the highest in the region and a total of 3
In contrast to the small municipalities, the situation is reversed in the regional center of Shumen. There, Dogan received more votes, winning 5.81% compared to Peevski’s 4.51%. The ‘Alliance for Rights and Freedoms’ garnered more votes in the municipalities of Kaspichan and Veliki Preslav, which are not controlled by DPS mayors. In Kaspichan, votes for Dogan are nearly three times as many, while in Veliki Preslav, they are double those for Delian Peevski.
Peevski’s Candidate Sets Preference Record
Aysel Mustafova, who is second on the Shumen list for ‘DPS – New Beginning,’ is an absolute record-holder for personal preferences in Shumen. Despite her short political career, she received 3,332 personal preferences in yesterday’s elections.
Almost all votes for Mustafova came from the municipality of Varbitsa, where Peevski’s party achieved an impressive 84% of the total votes cast. Out of the 3,713 votes for ‘DPS – New Beginning,’ 3,054 were with preferences for Aysel Mustafova.,033 ballots cast—Peevski’s party gained support from 2,143 voters, while Dogan’s ‘Alliance for Rights and Freedoms’ attracted 14.69%, or 428 votes.
In Kaolinovo, ‘DPS – New Beginning’ achieved 58.7% of the votes. With a voter turnout of 32%, 3,279 voters supported Peevski, while 27.46%, or 1,533 individuals, chose the ‘Alliance for Rights and Freedoms.’
In Venets, the voter turnout was 29%, with 50.65% or 1,519 votes going to Peevski’s coalition, while Dogan’s alliance received 29.44%, amounting to 883 ballots cast.
Since July 18 of this year, she has been a member of the board of directors of the Northeast State Enterprise, which manages the forests in three regions—Shumen, Dobrich, and Varna. Mustafova’s appointment was signed by the acting Minister of Agriculture Georgi Takhov, as she joined the board as a representative of the state. Even then, DPS activists claimed that Aysel Mustafova was among “Peevski’s people.” In the previous early parliamentary elections on June 9, she was fourth on the list of the still unified DPS in Shumen.
Despite her record-breaking preferences, Mustafova’s place in the next parliament is not guaranteed. She can only become a deputy if Peevski’s party secures two mandates in the Shumen region.
In second place for preferences in the region is Aylin Pehlivanova, fourth on the list of ‘We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria,’ who is the daughter of the mayor of Hitrino, Nuridin Ismail. With 2,391 preferences, she rearranges the list and moves up to second place, displacing the current deputy Zahari Borachev to third. Pehlivanova receives most of her preferences from Hitrino, where 2,070 voters (68% of the votes) supported ‘We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria.’ Out of these, 1,830 specifically backed Pehlivanova. She also garnered over 500 votes from other municipalities in Shumen.
Expectations are high for Aylin Pehlivanova to become a deputy, as the leader of the ‘We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria’ list, Acad. Nikolay Denkov, will enter parliament from Sofia, freeing up the seat in Shumen.
There is also a reshuffle in the GERB list. The third candidate, Prof. Dobromir Dobrev, and the fifth, Dimitar Alexandrov, surpassed the 7% threshold for rearrangement, moving to second and third places, respectively, with 1,147 and 827 personal votes. The second candidate, Evgeni Tsankov, drops to fourth place. The leader of the list, Lyubomir Christov, is assured of a parliamentary seat, while GERB will not have a chance to secure a second deputy in the new parliament.
In the remaining party lists for the Shumen region, there are no changes. The second candidate on the ‘BSP – United Left’ ballot, Katya Kairyakova, has the most preferences in her list—885. The list leader, Borislav Gutsanov, will enter parliament with the Varna list, which he also leads, thereby vacating his seat in Shumen. However, it is still unclear whether the four thousand votes cast for BSP will be sufficient for a mandate.
According to preliminary forecasts, the ‘weight’ of a Shumen mandate for the new parliament is just over 8,000 votes.
