Stanishev: 23 Y after, Authoritarianism Is Back in Bulgaria

Authoritarian rule is on its way to entrench itself in Bulgaria 23 years after the transition to democracy that started Novemer 10, 1989, said PES and Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Sergey Stanishev.

Stanishev referred to what he sees as one-party, one-man rule by ruling GERB and PM Boyko Borisov.

He was speaking during a congress of BSP junior partner, the Bulgarian Social Democrats, Saturday.

"Today constitutionally Bulgaria is a democracy, but in practice it is ruled by a one-person authoritarian regime that on a daily basis deprives citizens of their political rights, crushes democracy, and treats the state as its own property," argued the socialist leader.

"We must start from the beginning the fight for freedom and democracy in Bulgaria," added Stanishev.

"The government has turned malignant. It returns Bulgaria to where it was decades ago and spreads despair over people," recapitulated the situation the socialist.

He called on democracy-loving Bulgarians of all political persuasions to unite in opposition to those phenomena, which according to him bode ill for Bulgaria if not counteracted.

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