Who is Who: Candidates for Plovdiv Mayor

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. It is located in southern Bulgaria on the two banks of the Maritsa River. Seventeen candidates will vie for the mayoral post in the city, most of whom failed runners from previous elections.

The top candidates are:

Slavcho Atanasov – incumbent mayor, who seeks re-election. He was nominated by the alternative nationalist part VMRO-NIE and will be supported by the centrist right-wing United Democratic Forces, the United Agrarians.

Ivan Totev – the current District Governor of Plovdiv, nominated for Plovdiv mayor by Bulgaria's ruling center-right party GERB

Vladimir Donchev – nominated by "Civil Network for Modern Plovdiv" coalition

Danny Kanazireva - nominated by "Union of Plovdiv" party

Georgi Tarnovaliyski – nominated by the Bulgarian Socialist Party

Kiril Kirilov – nominated by the conservative Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party

Ilko Nikolov – nominated by the right-wing Blue Coalition – Plovdiv

Petya Raeva – nominated by the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms

Russi Panchev – nominated by the nationalist Ataka party