Bulgarian Conservatives Deny Endorsing GERB in Vote Runoff

The leader of Bulgaria's opposition conservative Order, Law and Justice party (RZS), Yane Yanev, firmly denies reports they are endorsing the candidates of the ruling, center-right GERB for the elections runoff.

Yanev spoke Wednesday in a morning interview for the TV channel bTV, in the aftermath of Tuesday headlines he had vowed support to those in power during a meeting with the leader of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party (GERB) and Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.

It was announced that during the talks Yanev had stated he would endorse, at the presidential runoff, the former Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Rosen Plevneliev, and his running mate, Justice Minister on leave, Margarita Popova, nominated by GERB, against the candidates of the opposition, left-wing Bulgarian Socialist party, BSP, Ivaylo Kalfin, who is a former Foreign Affairs Minister in the Socialist-led Three-Way Coalition cabinet and a current Member of the European Parliament, and his running mate, former Culture Minister from the BSP quota and movie star, Stefan Danailov.

The move came as a strong surprise to many in Bulgaria since for months RZS led an election campaign on the promise and the slogan "I Will Fire Boyko Borisov."

RZS and their presidential and vice-presidential nominations – Atanas Semov and Polya Stancheva collected just 2% of the vote at the October 23 presidential elections. Semov had also been present at the meeting.

"Have you ever heart us saying that we support Plevneliev and are GERB's troubadours? There were so many insinuations that RZS is a concealed project of the Socialists. Now we will show everyone who we are," Yanev declared during the Wednesday interview.

The Conservative stressed the party did not want to extend the term in office of current President, Georgi Parvanov, who is a former leader of BSP, by electing his prot?g? Kalfin all while the leader of the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, Ahmed Dogan, is endorsing him, thus determining who will be the country's next president.

"We have always been against the "Doganization" of our nation. Bulgaria must stop Dogan from taking the presidential institution in his own hands," the RZS leader said.

According to Yanev, it was normal to hold talks with the Prime Minister to debate budget 2012.

Tuesday reports informed that during the meeting Borisov had asked support for constitutional amendments related to the so-called financial stability pact and the law for the confiscation of illegally acquired assets without an effective verdict and was promised one. On his part, the PM had vowed to have Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, meet with Members of the Parliament from RZS to discuss their proposals and ideas.

"If we decide to compromise this is not a compromise with GERB – we are simply choosing the lesser evil. I explained to Borisov that a have negative opinion of Plevneliev, but I personally know Margarita Popova, and we worked well together," Yanev said.

He reiterated that he blames Deputy PM, Interior Minister, and Head of GERB's Election Headquarters, Tsvetan Tsvetanov and the Chair of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Iskra Fidosova, and her brainchild - the new Election Code, for the chaos, the manipulations and violations of the free and democratic vote on Election Day and for "repressions" against RZS followers and supporters.

Yanev praised Borisov from veering away from the far-right, nationalist Ataka party.