Bulgarian top-tier socialist politician Mihail Mikov. Photo by BGNES
Socialist MP and former Bulgarian Minister of Interior Mihail Mikov is the Bulgarian Socialist Party's candidate for speaker of the new Bulgarian Parliament.
The candidacy was unveiled Tuesday afternoon at a sitting of BSP's Executive Bureau.
Mikov was Interior Minister for part (2008-9) of the term in office of Socialist leader Sergey Stanishev's tripartite coalition cabinet (2005-9), after prior minister Rumen Petkov resigned.
The socialist candidate is the most probable chair of Bulgaria's 42th parliament, which is set to convene for its first sitting Tuesday.
The liberal Movement for Rights and Freedoms have said that they will back the Socialists' candidacy, while the two parties, together with nationalists Ataka, are highly unlikely to support the candidate of former ruling GERB party.
GERB's candidate is expected to be Tsetska Tsacheva, speaker of Bulgaria's last, 41th parliament.
The Socialists' candidate for deputy parliament speaker is long-standing front bench MP Maya Manolova.
Another rumored candidacy for parliament chair, that of popular leftist Yanaki Stoilov, was apparently not approved by the Socialist Party's Bureau.
Mihail Mikov's candidacy was unanimously approved by BSP's National Council later on Tuesday.