US embassy cable - 05SOFIA1873

UNCLAS SOFIA 001873 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, BU 
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: COALITION ALLIES BACK RIVAL CANDIDATES IN 
SOFIA MAYORAL RUN-OFF 
 
Ref: (A) SOFIA 1134 (B) SOFIA 1598, (C) SOFIA 1824 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Bulgaria's colorful former Interior 
Ministry Chief Secretary Boiko Borissov won the largest 
number of votes in the October 29 Sofia by-election, but fell 
short of the 50 percent needed for an outright victory.  He 
will now face a run-off against Socialist (BSP) MP Tatyana 
Doncheva on November 5.  Run-off elections will also be held 
in five other towns where no mayoral candidate won a clear 
majority in the first round (Ref. C).  Only two out of eight 
mayoral by-elections were decided on the first round; both 
were won by the candidates of the Socialist Party.  The weak 
and fragmented center-right continued to lose ground, with 
its candidates suffering defeat in Sofia, traditionally a 
center-right stronghold.  Borissov, who has a strong chance 
of winning the Sofia race, said he would use this election as 
a springboard to a national political career.  The 
competition among coalition partners has led to some awkward 
moments, but is unlikely to affect the government's 
stability.  END SUMMARY 
 
2. (U) Gen. Borissov, who ran as an independent candidate, 
garnered 38 percent of the vote, followed by Socialist 
candidate Tatyana Doncheva with 23 percent.  Svetoslav 
Gavriyski, the candidate of the center-right Democrats for 
Strong Bulgaria ranked third with 17 percent of the vote, 
ahead of the candidate of the National Movement for Simeon II 
(NMSS), former Finance Minister Milen Velchev.  Turnout in 
Sofia was low at just 33 percent, which analysts attributed 
to general disillusionment with politics and election fatigue 
following the June general elections (Ref. A).  The 
fragmented center-right, which failed to name a joint 
nominee, lost the mayoral seat in the traditional center- 
right stronghold for the first time since one-party rule 
collapsed. 
 
3. (SBU) Borissov, who resigned as Interior Ministry Chief 
Secretary in September (Ref. B), seems to take for granted 
 
SIPDIS 
his victory in the run-off.  He offered a position in his 
future administration to one of his erstwhile rivals, and 
demanded an apology from another for comments made during the 
campaign.  The former firefighter and bodyguard used a news 
conference on election night to boast about his successful 
work at the Interior Ministry and stress his ties with 
Western security services.  His opponents pointed to 
Borissov's alleged connections with unsavory business 
interests.  Despite these rumors, Borissov gathered support 
from all age groups and social strata across the political 
spectrum, while Doncheva, a leading Socialist reformer, 
failed to mobilize the conservative BSP electoral base. 
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev voiced his surprise at the 
NMSS decision to back Borissov in the Sofia run-off, despite 
the fact that the NMSS and the Socialists are coalition 
partners at the national level. 
 
4. (SBU) COMMENT: Borissov is the clear front-runner in the 
November 5 vote, especially since the NMSS said it would back 
him in the run-off.  The former national karate champion, 
known for his straight talk and close ties with local media, 
is largely responsible for making this the most interesting 
mayoral race in Sofia for the past 15 years.  END COMMENT 
BEYRLE