BULGARIA: COALITION ALLIES BACK RIVAL CANDIDATES IN

UNCLAS SOFIA 001873

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: COALITION ALLIES BACK RIVAL CANDIDATES IN
SOFIA MAYORAL RUN-OFF

Ref: (A) SOFIA 1134 (B) SOFIA 1598, (C) SOFIA 1824


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Bulgaria's colorful former Interior
Ministry Chief Secretary Boiko Borissov won the largest
number of votes in the October 29 Sofia by-election, but fell
short of the 50 percent needed for an outright victory. He
will now face a run-off against Socialist (BSP) MP Tatyana
Doncheva on November 5. Run-off elections will also be held
in five other towns where no mayoral candidate won a clear
majority in the first round (Ref. C). Only two out of eight
mayoral by-elections were decided on the first round; both
were won by the candidates of the Socialist Party. The weak
and fragmented center-right continued to lose ground, with
its candidates suffering defeat in Sofia, traditionally a
center-right stronghold. Borissov, who has a strong chance
of winning the Sofia race, said he would use this election as
a springboard to a national political career. The
competition among coalition partners has led to some awkward
moments, but is unlikely to affect the government's
stability. END SUMMARY


2. (U) Gen. Borissov, who ran as an independent candidate,
garnered 38 percent of the vote, followed by Socialist
candidate Tatyana Doncheva with 23 percent. Svetoslav
Gavriyski, the candidate of the center-right Democrats for
Strong Bulgaria ranked third with 17 percent of the vote,
ahead of the candidate of the National Movement for Simeon II
(NMSS),former Finance Minister Milen Velchev. Turnout in
Sofia was low at just 33 percent, which analysts attributed
to general disillusionment with politics and election fatigue
following the June general elections (Ref. A). The
fragmented center-right, which failed to name a joint
nominee, lost the mayoral seat in the traditional center-
right stronghold for the first time since one-party rule
collapsed.


3. (SBU) Borissov, who resigned as Interior Ministry Chief
Secretary in September (Ref. B),seems to take for granted

SIPDIS
his victory in the run-off. He offered a position in his
future administration to one of his erstwhile rivals, and
demanded an apology from another for comments made during the
campaign. The former firefighter and bodyguard used a news
conference on election night to boast about his successful
work at the Interior Ministry and stress his ties with
Western security services. His opponents pointed to
Borissov's alleged connections with unsavory business
interests. Despite these rumors, Borissov gathered support
from all age groups and social strata across the political
spectrum, while Doncheva, a leading Socialist reformer,
failed to mobilize the conservative BSP electoral base.
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev voiced his surprise at the
NMSS decision to back Borissov in the Sofia run-off, despite
the fact that the NMSS and the Socialists are coalition
partners at the national level.


4. (SBU) COMMENT: Borissov is the clear front-runner in the
November 5 vote, especially since the NMSS said it would back
him in the run-off. The former national karate champion,
known for his straight talk and close ties with local media,
is largely responsible for making this the most interesting
mayoral race in Sofia for the past 15 years. END COMMENT
BEYRLE