Who is Who: Candidates for Smolyan Mayor

Smolyan is a town and ski resort in the very south of Bulgaria not far from the border with Greece. As of February 2011, it has a population of 30,283 inhabitants.

Seven candidates will vie for the mayoral post in the town, a traditional stronghold of the Socialist Party:

Dora Yankova - member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), incumbent mayor, who will seek re-election

Pavel Petrov – runs on the ticket of the conservative Order, Law and Justice (RZS) party

Nikolay Melemov - nominated by center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party

Boyko Mladenov – backed by ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms

Dimitar Trendafilov – runs on the ticket of LIDER party of energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki

Zarko Marinov – nominated by right-wing Blue Coalition

Kostadin Vasilev – represents "Together for Smolyan" coalition