Author: Veselin Stoynev
At least at the top of the candidate-deputy lists for the 52nd National Assembly, no major surprises are noticeable. And this is understandable, since the main competitor to all the others is the new formation of the former president, to which sociological agencies assign first place.
The previous parliamentary parties respond with almost the same leaders of the lists compared to the previous elections in October 2024, with mainly shifts in electoral districts. The renewal, to the extent that it exists at all, has been relegated to the back of the lists, with most new faces present only "for color" with a minimal chance of being elected, even with preferential voting.
New, but not that much, and it is unclear what
And with Rumen Radev's newest and still unborn party, now appearing in the elections as a technical coalition with the name "Progressive Bulgaria", there could be no big surprises, precisely because it is new. It would be a surprise if its lists had become saturated with old faces from previous times and with a burdened political biography. The new faces, on the other hand, cannot be particularly impressive, being unknown to a national audience.
Each new primary formation is still giving birth to a new political elite - such were the NMSV, GERB, PP (ITN only partially, because it failed to lead the government). And in the process of party consolidation, both new political stars are born, as well as constant personnel misunderstandings, betrayals and group splits.
PB: Bright athletes against the backdrop of nondescript advisors
However, there is one distinct surprise in Rumen Radev's approach - as many as four top athletes are leaders of lists, which is an unprecedented practice. But this is the easiest path to seeking supra-party national authority - by drawing party popularity from personalities loved and respected by all, who raised the national flag on the world sports stage. At the same time, this is intended to compensate for the inconspicuous presence, with a few exceptions, of President Radev's entourage of advisors and former acting prime ministers and ministers, who lead the lists in other regions.
The second peculiarity of Radev's formation is that it also relies on local authorities, who, however, do not yet have national recognition and who will have to prove to what extent they can become nationally significant. It remains to be seen what lies in depth in these lists after the first places.
Regardless of everything, the task of "Progressive Bulgaria" is initially easy, as its electoral power is based entirely on the personality of Rumen Radev and the expectations towards him, so that it is sufficient success that they simply do not give rise to serious doubts and scandals. Only in the new parliament will it become clear whether the selection was of high quality, to ensure a stable and well-functioning parliamentary group.
GERB: Brothers in "Magnitsky" and Tsvetanov's deputies
There are no surprises in GERB. The complete rehabilitation of Vladislav Goranov, which was started long ago personally by the leader Boyko Borisov, is somewhat of an exception. Goranov's leadership of the list in Varna is in practice a demonstration of solidarity with his "brother in arms" Delyan Peevski, who is also sanctioned under "Magnitsky" and leads in Blagoevgrad. This fuels the PP-DB's thesis that Borisov and Peevski are one and the same, but for the electorates encapsulated to their hard cores, it seems to have no particular significance, because for them the mechanism "nothing my opponent says is true and I don't even care" works.
The second, less surprising, is that Boyko Borisov abandoned his approach from the previous elections of putting his most popular mayors as leaders and even announced that Dimitar Nikolov and Zhivko Todorov would be entrusted with more responsibilities in local structures because he missed Tsvetan Tsvetanov. It seems that GERB will tighten its ranks against a possible electoral outflow after the vote or will prepare for a rematch for the first place after possible new elections soon.
Take over and install Dzhevdet and Stefka
Peevski, on the other hand, is betting on his well-tested approach to demonstrating power - defeating his opponent and making him his vassal. After dozens of mayors took pictures with him in his office under the state coat of arms, it was the turn of his former opponent and co-chairman of the MRF Dzhevdet Chakarov to be installed as his runner-up on the list in Blagoevgrad.
The athlete Stefka Kostadinova, after being instructed to attempt a coup in the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, is now installed at the head of the "New Beginning" list in Plovdiv - even ahead of the experienced Iskra Mihaylova, a former minister and MEP, who is second.
Bozhankov is gone, the genzits will rely on preferences
The surprise at PP-DB turned out to be not the presence, but the absence from the list - of Yavor Bozhankov. The scandal between PP and DB over the young politician caused image damage to the coalition and "exploded" many of its voters, who liked Bozhankov's oratory skills and firm positions.
As the main political exponent of the demands of the protests in December, in which an unprecedented number of young people from generation Z also participated, PP-DB included "genzits" in their lists, including representatives of ethnic minorities, albeit in more backward places. This seems justified caution, as the protest should not be a catapult of luck for young people in politics. And they also have a chance to prove themselves with preferential voting, which, however, has also long been a matter of internal coalition disputes in the PP-DB, as the preferential vote is a strong weapon especially in "Yes, Bulgaria". With his rich protest biography in "Justice for Everyone", however, the former youth leader of the UDF, Velislav Velichkov, has earned an elective place on the PP-DB lists.
Six "Vozrajdane" are double flag bearers
The remarkable thing about "Vazrajdane" is that as many as six people lead two lists, and are not simply candidates on two lists - Kostadin Kostadinov, Tsoncho Ganev, Petar Petrov, Ivelin Parvanov, Vesselin Veshev and Angel Georgiev. With the serious electoral decline of the party, however, it is unlikely that more than one elected seat per district can be guaranteed on average - in some there may be two, but in others - zero. The narrow-party instinct in such cases dictates that the reproduction of the party elite be guaranteed as much as possible.
The polling agencies are not yet clear which other of the previous parliamentary formations will cross the electoral barrier. And this may actually turn out to be the most serious surprise on April 19 after the lack of particularly big surprises in the lists - that the winning numbers may come out in only five party tickets.