Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev paid tribute to all Bulgarians, who contributed to the country's EU accession as he was declared Bulgaria's top politician for 2006.

Stanishev grabbed the politician of the year 2006 award conferred annually by national private Darik radio. He managed to gather 44% of the listeners' votes, outstripping Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov, former EU Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva, ultra nationalist party leader Volen Siderov and leader of the ethnic Turkish party Ahmed Dogan.

"Politician of the Year award is for all those Bulgarians, who worked for achieving a historic goal - Bulgaria's membership in the European Union," Stanishev said. He was handed the award, a sculpture by Leda Starcheva, by Darik Radio's executive director Radosvet Radev.

Darik Radio broadcast a special festive programme on Monday to mark its 14th birthday.

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