A contested vote for the best mayors is underway on the Kmetnagodinata.bg platform in the national competition “Mayor of the Year“ 2025. It is organized for the 13th consecutive year by Kmeta.bg.
Only 4 days remain for the selection of the mayors-excellents in 7 areas.
Until 23:59 on October 5, everyone can give their assessment on the platform Kmetnagodinata.bg
The interim results show a heated battle between two or three mayors in each of the categories. The leaders are constantly changing and as the voting deadline approaches, the competition will become even hotter and with many surprises.
Categories and Awards
In 2025, the competition will honor mayors in 7 categories:
- Mayor of the Year
- Mayor of the Citizens
- Urban Environment
- Smart City
- Tourism and Culture
- Sports and Youth Policies
- Investments and Growth
The Interim Leaders
As of October 2, there are prominent leaders in the top category «Mayor of the Year» for small and medium-sized municipalities. These are the mayor of Beloslav, Eng. Deyan Ivanov, and the mayor of Tundzha, Stancho Stavrev, respectively. In the large categories, the battle is contested between Valentin Revanski (Yambol) and Petar Kulenski (Pazardzhik) - the two exchange leadership.
In the other categories, the race is also quite contested, with the temporary leaders changing literally within hours.
In the «Mayor of the Citizens» title, so far, the most fiercely contested ones in the medium-sized municipalities are Eng. Angel Dzhorgov (Samokov), Alexander Sabanov (Silistva) and Nikolay Mitkov (Parvomay), and in the large ones – Dr. Hristo Grudev (Assenovgrad), Dr. Eng. Daniel Panov (Veliko Tarnovo) and Prof. Dr. Eng. Hristo Hristov (Shumen).
The technological category «Smart City» is a field of competition for many of the mayors. In the small municipalities, the leadership is exchanged between Ivaylo Kracholov (Chirpan), Diana Ovcharova (Ivaylovgrad) and Eng. Vladimir Alexandrov (Etropole). The mayors of Silistra Alexander Sabanov and Trgovishte Dr. Darin Dimitrov are competing in the medium-sized municipalities with the greatest support so far. And in the large municipalities, the leaders in the competition so far are Vasil Terziev (Sofia) and Zhivko Todorov (Stara Zagora)
The voting in the category «Tourism and Culture» is no less contested. Here, in the large municipalities, the strongest contenders are Dr. Hristo Grudev (Assenovgrad) and Dr. Eng. Daniel Panov (Veliko Tarnovo). In the small municipalities, the battle is currently focused on Marin Kirov (Tsarevo) and Diana Ovcharova (Ivaylovgrad).
In the small municipalities, there is also a duel in the «Investments and Growth» category, where the leadership is exchanged between Eng. Deyan Ivanov (Beloslav) and Emanuil Manolov (Avren). There is also a clear rivalry in the large municipalities, with as many as four mayors with the most votes so far – Zhivko Todorov (Stara Zagora), Vasil Terziev (Stolichna Municipality), Valentin Revanski (Yambol) and Kostadin Dimitrov (Plovdiv).
The battle for the «Urban Environment» category once again pits the mayors of Avren Emanuil Manolov and Beloslav Eng. Deyan Ivanov against each other in the small municipalities. In the large ones, and here with a large vote, Valentin Revanski (Yambol), Zhivko Todorov (Stara Zagora) and Dimitar Nikolov (Burgas) are already ahead.
The most unpredictable competitions, logically, are in the «Sports and Youth Policies» category. Here, the championship is contested by many mayors and the leadership is constantly changing, which will probably remain until the last moment. With the most votes in small municipalities are Eng. Vladimir Alexandrov (Etropole), Grigor Daulov (Chavdar) and Ivanka Nikolova (Smyadovo). In medium-sized municipalities, the competition pits the mayors of Nessebar Nikolay Dimitrov, Samokov Eng. Angel Dzhorgov and Sandanski Atanas Stoyanov against each other. In large municipalities, Stanislav Dechev (Haskovo), Stanislav Vladimirov (Pernik) and Vasil Terziev (Stolichna Municipality) are ahead.
However, in the remaining 4 days there is enough time for new favorites to emerge, or for the temporary leaders to consolidate their leadership.
Regulations
Every citizen can cast their vote in one specialized category and support a candidate in one of the two main categories - “Mayor of the Year" or “Mayor of the Citizens".
In most categories, there is already a very tight race between two, three and even four candidates with close results. Therefore, every vote is important and can change the ranking.
Online voting - fast, easy and secure
On the Kmetnagodinata.bg platform, everyone can cast their vote only from IP addresses on the territory of Bulgaria.
Registration is done in three ways:
- via Facebook profile
- via Google profile
- via email (after confirmation)
This guarantees the authenticity and transparency of the vote.
Participants and criteria
All 265 mayors of municipalities in the country participate in the competition, with two exceptions: Varna Municipality - due to charges brought against the mayor, and Elin Pelin Municipality - at their own insistence.
The winners will be selected in three groups, according to the size of the municipality:
- Small municipalities - up to 20,000 inhabitants
- Medium municipalities - from 20,000 to 50,000 inhabitants
- Large municipalities - over 50,000 inhabitants
The classification is in accordance with the official NSI population data as of 31.12.2022
Final and Ceremony
The grand finale of “Mayor of the Year" 2025 will take place on October 7 in Sofia, when the winners will be announced and awarded.
The official ceremony will be broadcast on BNT1 on October 12.
Partners and Support
The event is supported by Huvepharma, Vivacom, Biovet, efbet, Credisimo, Electrohold, Minstroy Holding, Borika, Metroreklama, Billboard.