Only two of the parties represented in parliament so far in Bulgaria increased their results in absolute terms in the national elections in the 27th Starozagora electoral district.
These are DPS and ITN.
With a voter turnout of 33.7%, Ahmed Dogan’s party received 14.9% of the votes from all voters, which is an increase of four percentage points and 11,400 votes more compared to DPS’s results from last year’s parliamentary elections. Although this trend is not new, in a region where data from the last census shows that only 4.4% identify as ethnic Turks and Muslims and 6.6% as Roma, such a result is surprising.
This raises the logical question of where this strong support for the party, formally headed by two chairpersons but effectively led by Delian Peevski, is coming from. Firstly, there is the “Roma-ization” of the vote for DPS, a trend that began over a decade ago with the mass buying of votes in Roma ghettos and neighborhoods.
This election cycle also exhibited growth in this trend, despite public statements from Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov assuring the integrity of the elections. A check by “For the Truth” of the results in the sections from the Roma neighborhood “Lozenets” in Stara Zagora indicates that between 50 and 70 percent of residents who exercised their voting rights cast their ballots for DPS. A similar pattern is observed in some sections of the municipalities of Muglizh, Nikolaevo, and Gurkovo, where the Roma community is the second-largest ethnic group. There, in some sections, DPS received over two-thirds of the vote.
In the Starozagora list for DPS, following leader Khalil Letifov—the deputy chairman of the party—are Isa Besoğlu, the mayor of Pavel Banya, Nikolai Tonev, the mayor of Galabovo, and Shendoan Halit, the deputy mayor of Pavel Banya.
The presence of these names on the list suggests a controlled vote by default.
Pavel Banya has always been one of the strongest strongholds of DPS, and before Isa Besoğlu became the mayor of the municipality, he had long feudalized its population as the principal employer in the region. However, when he and his deputy mayor Shendoan Halit occupy the top positions on the party list, there is no doubt that the people there are voting under pressure and fear. While DPS’s result in Pavel Banya can be partly explained by the fact that the proportion of those identifying as ethnic Turks and Roma in the municipality at the last census is nearly 50 percent, the situation in Galabovo municipality is fundamentally different.
There, the population is predominantly Bulgarian with fewer than 5 percent Roma, making the vote for DPS in this election—1,291 votes out of a total of 4,000 cast—seem inexplicable.
However, a remark by an elderly woman waiting in line at one of the polling stations on June 9 explains why she was ready to cast her ballot for Ahmed Dogan’s party: “I am not voting for DPS, but for Nikolai Tonev, because I like him.” Clearly, others feel the same way—due to the large parties he organizes, such as the pre-election event in the village of Obruchishte, where Ivana performed, and according to attendees at the orchestra, banknotes were thrown. The municipality’s administration is also pleased, as Mayor Tonev regularly organizes exotic “trainings” abroad—in Italy and on the island of Thassos.
Nikolai Tonev is currently serving his sixth term as mayor of Galabovo, known as the first “private municipality.”
He was a candidate on the deputy list of the movement in the parliamentary elections of 2021, receiving 1,939 preferences, but he declined to take up a seat in the National Assembly, which was not his primary goal to begin with.
In the local elections last year, Tonev’s candidacy was put forward by the local coalition BSDP (DPS), and he won the mandate with over 50 percent of the votes. Consequently, he punished (in his own words) the residents of the villages where he lost the vote by keeping them without garbage collection for more than a month, closing cultural centers, ritual halls, and senior clubs, and even going as far as to halt street lighting in some villages, arguing that he lacked the funds to pay the bills to EVN. He stated that this situation would continue until they apologized to him. Residents of two of the “rebelling” villages—Iskrec and Murdrets—did so in the form of a humiliating declaration written in the municipality, under which they merely placed their signatures.
Cases like those of Isa Besoğlu, Nikolai Tonev, and Shendoan Halit demonstrate the need for changes in the Electoral Code that would allow municipal mayors to run as candidates on party lists for the National Assembly or the European Parliament only after resigning from their positions as mayors.
Because it is clear to everyone that they participate in parliamentary elections solely to “pump” votes for the party. Therefore, this corrupt practice must come to an end.
The other party, after DPS, that has increased its result by 1 percent and 550 votes compared to last year’s elections is ITN. Slavi Trifonov enjoys a solid and lasting reputation in the city of linden trees, and even a recording of his concert at the “Beroe” stadium was made and aired as an advertisement during the party’s campaign, claim citizens of Stara Zagora.
Clearly, the entertainer also appreciates his audience here, as his first words at a meeting in the Cultural Center before last year’s parliamentary elections were, “Stara Zagora is a great city.” Why, remains unclear!
Although GERB is again at the top of the rankings, and despite their achievement of 23.7 percent and 21,300 votes, Boyko Borisov’s party lost 5,760 voters on June 9 compared to their results in last year’s National Assembly elections. This trend, as sociologists report, is lasting and will most likely continue, driven by voter fatigue over the party’s entrenchment in power, even when the governments were not formally run by GERB. Additionally, there is increasing disappointment among citizens in regions governed by mayors from GERB, some of whom, like Zivko Todorov in Stara Zagora, are serving their fourth term.
The disappointment stems from the opaque manner in which hundreds of millions were spent from European programs and funds, as well as the national budget, for poorly executed various projects, corruption—particularly in public procurement—and the destruction of green spaces.
In second place after GERB is “Vazrazhdane” with a result of 17.2 percent, which is 3.4 percentage points higher than what Kostadin Kostadinov’s party holds nationally. Despite losing 2,400 votes compared to last year, it garnered the trust of 15,440 voters.
This strong result is attributed to the candidates’ clear position that the Maritsa East energy complex should continue to operate and serve as the “backbone of Bulgarian energy.” They also stated that if “Vazrazhdane” were to govern the country, they would seek to renegotiate the terms of our contracts with the European Union and exit NATO.
Another reason for the party’s good performance on June 9 is the behavior of the “Vazrazhdane” group in the municipal council, which is the most vocal and outspoken opposition within it. Their positions often align with those of the councilors from “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria,” which is why they sometimes vote together against the principle-less proposals of the administration supported by the GERB majority.
Traditionally strong in the region, the BSP achieved a better result than its national performance once again, receiving 8.8% and nearly 8,000 votes for the socialists. However, these results cannot be deemed a success and indicate a continuing decline in trust towards them. Additionally, the behavior of their group of municipal councilors is often bland, even collaborative with the majority, making it difficult to characterize them as genuine opposition.
Whether “Velichie” has captured a portion of the “Vazrazhdane” vote at the national level, as Kostadinov claims, is too early to determine.
However, it is a fact that this new political player on the scene achieved a result higher than its national representation—5.6% and just over 5,000 voters in the 27th electoral district. While we do not know which educational, age, and ethnic groups voted for this new populist formation, if we are to believe the profile already created by sociologists, it consists of well-educated and economically active individuals.
The big loser in these elections, both nationally and in Stara Zagora, is “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria,”
which received 8,700 votes fewer compared to the elections in April of last year. There are many reasons for this decline in trust towards the coalition that formally governed Bulgaria for nine months. However, for the loss of 11% and around 9,000 votes in the region, the primary reasons, in addition to voter disillusionment with unmet expectations, were the principled and unwavering stance of the democratic coalition regarding the so-called “Green Deal.” This position sparked protests from miners and energy workers last fall and this spring.
The government and deputies found themselves in the uncomfortable position of remaining silent about the fact that the primary culprits for the situation in the Maritsa East complex are GERB and Borisov, who squandered years with inaction and empty promises not to halt coal production or close power plants. This silence was part of the price for maintaining the “Denkov” cabinet with support from GERB and DPS, in hopes of amending the constitution and pushing through the judicial reform, which, of course, never materialized.
Whether “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” will maintain their coalition format or fragment in their new role as opposition—should DPS enter into power—remains unclear, as does their ability to restore the lost trust of citizens, either together or separately.
Most importantly, the formation of a majority in parliament and the establishment of a new government lies ahead.
