Comment by Emilia Milcheva:
"How will Radev stand up to compete with me?!", GERB leader Boyko Borisov asked the mayors and his supporters. Since a GERB mayoral candidate can, however, be "seduced" with the post of a micro-dam keeper, the question of equal competition sounds like a joke.
How to work "for the people"
While some measure their political superiority in rhetorical questions, others prefer to do it in election protocols. Thanks to the efforts of the people, the chairman of the MRF-New Beginning Delyan Peevski boasted that his party had won “its first electoral victories for 2026 in the partial local elections in the municipality of Kirkovo”. This was followed by congratulations to the two mayors - Huseyn Chilingir of the municipality of Valchanka, municipality of Kirkovo, and Assen Pachev of the municipality of Druzhintsi, municipality of Kirkovo, as well as to the campaign headquarters.
Both Chilingir and Pachev were the only candidates - there was no competition on their way to the mayor's chair. Things were arranged in such a way that there were no other candidates, Resmi Murad from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms told Deutsche Welle. According to him, despite assurances that he works in the name of the people, Peevski's only goal is to clear his name (due to the sanctions for corruption from the US and the UK, b.a.).
Borisov's party had a candidate for Druzhintsi - Vasko Ognyanov, but he withdrew at the last moment. It was his withdrawal that caused GERB's regional coordinator Tsveta Karayancheva to explode with a Facebook post days before the vote on February 22 that “the only candidate will win a formal victory”. “After Mr. Shinasi Suleiman seduced GERB nominee Vasko Ognyanov with a job offer and persuaded him to withdraw, without even explaining why, GERB voted for Andrey Angelov with the belief that the residents of Druzhintsi would make a choice according to their conscience, not under pressure”, she wrote.
The offer to Ognyanov was to guard a small dam in the Kirkovo municipality. And he submitted his notification of refusal to participate in the elections at the last moment - and thus thwarted the possibility of GERB registering its other candidate. As a result of the “seduction”, Asen Pachev was elected mayor of the village of Druzhintsi, for whom 79 valid votes were cast. Out of 251 eligible voters, 112 people went to the polls.
Peevski's fortress?
Kardzhali, previously known as "Dogan's fortress", is now "Peevski's fortress". The politician, sanctioned for corruption by the US and UK, took over the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. All 7 municipalities in the region are united in the strategy "A New Beginning for the Development of the Regions" - Kardzhali, Krumovgrad, Ardino, Kirkovo, Momchilgrad, Chernoochene and Dzhebel.
About 50, which is less than a fifth of all municipalities in Bulgaria, have joined the initiative, packaged as an accelerated development program. In practice, it is a network of influence concentrated around a single center, in which access to public resources and loyalties are not hidden. The investment program of the municipalities, for which almost 384 million euros were paid in 2025 by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and another 130.5 million euros from the Bulgarian Development Bank, continues in the 2026 election year. For this year, there are another 460 million euros in the extended budget. The acting Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski promised to check whether the money is being distributed fairly to the municipalities, as for some it is seriously delayed.
Through local victories - to the parliament
The third sociological survey since the beginning of 2026 - this time by the “Trend” agency, places DPS-NN in fourth place with 10.5% (of those who said they would vote) in competition with PP-DB, whose estimated result is 10.9%. Also 10.5%, corresponding to fourth position, gave DPS-NN and “Market Links”. Compared to the 11.548% obtained in the previous elections in October 2024, the difference is not large, but with higher voter turnout, the weight of Peevski's vote will decrease.
Peevski's tactic is a demonstration of strength through small victories. By-elections are like control shots: they don't make much noise, but they show precision and suggest that work is being done on the ground. In fact, "working for the people" is usually working with the people who decide the elections.
Are victories inevitable?
And finally, there is the suggestion of inevitability - that the process has already begun, that the victories are "the first", but not the last. They demonstrate to everyone that the machine is working and control is in place. But Peevski's victories are not inevitable. At its very first meeting, the caretaker cabinet expectedly stopped his favorite Denyo Denev as head of SANS, withdrawing his candidacy from parliament. Denev is currently the acting head of counterintelligence.
It seems that a new beginning is beginning for Peevski.