Bulgarian President Radev wins second term on anti-corruption ticket

Sofia, November 21 (BNA) Bulgarian President Rumen Radev won a second term by a large margin on Sunday as voters in the European Union’s poorest country endorsed his strong anti-corruption message, opinion polls showed.

Radev, 58, defeated Anastas Gerdjikov, 58, to win 66% to 32% in the presidential run-off after he nearly won the first round on November 14, according to polls that also recorded a record low voter turnout.

The election comes amid widespread discontent with the graft that ended the decade-long rule of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in April and led a new anti-corruption party to victory in last week’s parliamentary elections, Reuters reported.

“An unprecedented political month has ended with two kinds of elections, which clearly demonstrated the people’s desire for change, the eradication of corruption, theft and illegality, and the removal of the mafia from power,” Radev, beaming, told reporters after the vote.

The presidential office is largely ceremonial but provides a powerful platform to influence public opinion. The president is prominent in times of political crisis, when the head of state can appoint temporary governments.

Radev, a former air force commander, gained popularity for his public support of the massive anti-graft protests against Borisov in 2020 and for appointing interim governments that highlighted the opaque public procurement deals of the recent center-right Borisov government. Borisov denied any wrongdoing.

“Radev’s victory reaffirms the desire for change in Bulgaria. His re-election will facilitate the formation of a coalition government,” said Daniel Smilov, a political analyst at the Center for Liberal Strategies.

Gerdzhikov, the rector of Sofia University supported by Borisov’s party, conceded defeat, lamenting his failure to convince the Bulgarians that he could unite the nation.

Two Harvard-educated entrepreneurs appointed Radev in May as interim ministers since creating the We Keep Change party, which won Bulgaria’s third national election this year on November 14, with a pledge of “no corruption.”

Radev has the support of Borisov’s political opponents – the PP, the socialists and the anti-elite ITN party, which along with another anti-graft faction is in talks to form a coalition government.

In his first words after the vote, Radev addressed the parties, urging them to form a ruling government and initiate judicial reforms, combat the coronavirus pandemic and take measures to protect the vulnerable from rising energy costs.

Radev’s second five-year term will begin on January 22.

FKN