Ruling GERB Grabs Bulgaria's Plovdiv

The candidate of the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party (GERB), Ivan Totev, incumbent district governor, is the mayor-elect of the country's second largest city of Plovdiv.

The news was reported by the Plovdiv Municipal Electoral Commission overnight.

With 70 871 (50.84%) votes Totev won by a margin of 2 338 votes against incumbent mayor Slavcho Atanasov, from the nationalist VMRO-NIE party, with 68 5333 votes (49.16%)

During the entire Election Day and well through the evening, Totev remained silent and avoided the media while his campaign managers stated he will speak only after 100% of the ballots are counted.

"I am extremely happy with this result. True, my lead is just 2 000 ballots, but this result means a lot – a change in the leadership of Plovdiv and a better future for our city. From now on, Plovdiv will have a mayor, who will treat all residents the same," Totev stated during his appearance at the Municipal Commission at 1 am Monday, when 100% of the protocols were processed.

The mayor-elect further stressed that he will lead a stable city council and vowed partnership with the State, not confrontation as it has been until now. He pointed out these elections convinced him further that one must have faith until the end and admitted there had been moments through the day he thought of what he would say to Atanasov in order to concede with dignity.

When asked to comment on numerous reports of alleged vote buying by VMRO-NIE, Totev said he kept silent on it because this was below his level as politician.

There was information in the media that the residents of the Roma district of Stolipinovo had become very active in going to the polls at the end of the day with some admitting before journalists they had been paid to do so.

Atanasov greeted Plovdiv people, who had voted for him, and told them their vote had been replaced.

"Never before there had been such fraud and such vote buying in Plovdiv. This must end," he concluded.