"There are losses more worthy than any victory, and there are victories that carry enormous responsibility. I am aware of this responsibility and consider this victory a common cause. It is not a victory of one over another, of one chairman over another. It is a victory over apathy and over a sense of resignation. It would not have been possible if the Bulgarian Socialist Party had no vitality, strength, belonging and family".
This was stated in his first speech by the new leader of the BSP, Krum Zarkov.
A total of 737 delegates participated in the vote last night, with 721 of the ballots cast being valid, and 16 – invalid, writes Epicenter.
Rusi Statkov received 3 votes, Borislav Gutsanov - 302, and Krum Zarkov collected 416 votes, winning the election for chairman of the BSP.
The voting began at 7 p.m. and was supposed to last until 8 p.m., but it turned out that the delegates cast their votes expeditiously.
After the official announcement of the result, the Congress voted to increase the composition of the National Council by one member - to 182, since the newly elected leader had not been a member of the plenum until that moment.
Zarkov thanked "most sincerely for the trust shown, for the highest honor for every socialist - the leadership of the Bulgarian Socialist Party". He also expressed gratitude to his opponents, because they have shown that politics can be done in principle.
"This is a huge signal, a strong sign to our party, to the members and supporters", continued Zarkov.
"Not only is nothing lost, the big thing is now starting", said Zarkov. "They see that we heard them and understood", he said of the BSP supporters.
Our responsibility, in addition to words, is to follow with actions, I am ready with them and they will be quick, said the new BSP leader. The people who are with me are ready with them and they will help me, he added.
Krum Zarkov commented that it was also a sign to all Bulgarians, a sign to everyone who thinks that there is no point in fighting, that politics is a dirty job, that it is not possible if you are not pointed out, that it is not possible if you are not made, that it is not possible if you do not agree.
It is possible and we proved it today, he said.
"Let every Bulgarian citizen know from now on that there is a party in Bulgaria that has traditions and a future, in which democracy is not just a word, not just a procedure, but a way of functioning", said Zarkov.
"There are mistakes, there is sanctioning of mistakes, there is respect and this is the normal political process, this process should soon conquer all of Bulgaria", he added.
"Many surprises were expected for these elections, the first surprise was that the surprise came from the BSP", said Krum Zarkov. He pointed out that from now on there is a lot of work to do, they will meet with citizens and will humbly but ambitiously state what they want to achieve for Bulgaria. The road is difficult, but we will walk this path together and we will go far, said Zarkov.
If until yesterday they were pointing fingers at us, today they must set an example for us. We will infect the entire country with a different way of doing politics. Many surprises were expected for these elections, the first surprise came from the BSP! We will humbly but ambitiously state what we want to achieve for Bulgaria, Zarkov also said in his speech.
"The race for the post of chairman of the BSP is serious because it is a real political clash, such as can only happen in one party in Bulgaria," Krum Zarkov told journalists at the beginning of the vote.
"I hope that this race will drag a leg for other parties and finally for the entire Bulgarian people. Because this is a struggle that will lead to a new legal order," the former Minister of Justice also said.
Zarkov was born on November 21, 1982 in Sofia. He graduated from the 9th French Language High School "Alphonse de Lamartine" in the capital and has a master's degree in international law and law of international organizations from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in France.
He was a member of parliament in the 44th, 45th, 46th and 47th National Assembly and part of the Executive Bureau of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Service Minister of Justice in the service cabinet of Galab Donev and Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Head of State Rumen Radev from July 3, 2023 to May 2025, when he left "Dondukov" 2 due to disagreement with the issue of the euro referendum initiated by the president.