The National Assembly re-elected Kiril Valchev as Director General of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA) for a second five-year term. The decision was made unanimously during today's plenary session, with 170 MPs voting "for", without a single "against" or "abstained".
Vulchev's new mandate was supported by a broad coalition of sponsors, including Kostadin Angelov (GERB-SDF), Toshko Yordanov ("There is such a people") and Mariana Boyadzhieva ("BSP-United Left").
Immediately after the vote, the Speaker of the National Assembly Raya Nazaryan declared the election valid, after which Kiril Valchev took the official oath from the parliamentary rostrum. He swore to abide by the Constitution and the laws of the country and to perform his duties in good faith, guided by the principles of the BTA Law.
"The correct use of the Bulgarian language is a law, and in the literal sense of the word", said Kiril Valchev in his address to the deputies, quoted by BTA.
Raya Nazaryan congratulated the re-elected director and wished him a successful mandate at the head of the national information institution.
Valchev's candidacy, whose first term expires on January 27, 2026, received unprecedented public support. The National Assembly has received over 60 letters in his defense from leading institutions and organizations. Among those who supported him are the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", numerous municipalities, creative unions, as well as Patriarch Daniil personally.
Kiril Valchev was born on May 24, 1973 in Sofia. He graduated from the National High School for Ancient Languages and Cultures (NGDEK) and law at Sofia University. He has many years of experience in the media, and his career began precisely at BTA in 1993. For decades, he was one of the emblematic faces of "Darik Radio" and the host of the program "The Week". Valchev headed BTA for the first time in January 2021, and over the past five years the agency has significantly expanded its network of correspondents and made its news freely available to all users.