Georgi Parvanov and Anguel Marin swore in at Parliament as the new President and Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria at a solemn, extraordinary sitting of the Bulgarian Parliament. The National Anthem of Bulgaria played afterwards. Before the ceremony, incumbent President Stoyanov wished good luck to his successor. In his speech, President-elect Parvanov said that he will work for the stability in the country, will seek balance between the institutions. He pointed out that he will present a bill for amendments in the Constitution that will harmonize the Bulgarian and EU legislation. The patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Maxim attended the ceremony. Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg said that Parvanov takes office after the successful term of his predecessor and advised him to preserve and further improve the image of the presidential institution. Parvanov and Marin will be officially inaugurated as Bulgarian President and Vice-President on January 22. Under the Bulgarian Constitution, the president and vice president elect are sworn in three days before the term of their incumbent counterparts expires. They will take office on the date on which the mandate of the incumbents expires.
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