Bulgarian PM Congratulates GERB, Coalition Partners, Opposition on Local Election Results
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who is in Brussels for a leaders' meeting over the refugee crisis in the countries along the Western Balkans migratory route, congratulated his party, the coalition partners and the opposition for their results in the local elections held in Bulgaria on Sunday.
First of all, Borisov congratulated his party GERB for winning the largest share of the votes in the country and above all the mayors and municipal councillors elected in the first round of the elections.
According to the latest exit polls, GERB won nearly 34.5 % of the votes nationally and the party's incumbent mayors were reelected at first round in major cities such as Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo and Blagoevgrad.
The candidates of GERB will stand in run-offs in other major cities such as Plovdiv, Shumen, Haskovo and Vidin.
Borisov also congratulated the junior coalition partners from the Reformist Bloc (RB) as well as the two parties supporting the coalition government - the Patriotic Front (PF) and the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV).
The results clearly showed that GERB and RB enjoyed considerably more support than the rest of the parties and when the achievements of PF and ABV were included, the coalition looked quite stable.
Surprisingly, the Bulgarian prime minister also congratulated the two largest opposition parties - the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).
According to him, the opposition parties performed strongly in the local elections and deserved more attention.
He expressed hope that the ruling coalition will continue to govern the country with reason, responsibility and wisdom in the future.
In his words, the local authority was extremely important as its capacity aided the better management of EU funds, infrastructure, the attraction of investments and job creation.
As regards the referendum, Borisov expressed hope that the parliament will take a decision in favour of remote electronic voting which will allow Bulgarians, especially those living abroad, to vote in elections and referendums.
He also commendted the refugee crisis, highlighting the need for reaching a common European solution.
According to him it was important to seek financial resources from the European Commission and the EU funds.
Borisov was firmly against taking loans from international financial institutions to deal with the refugee wave.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker summoned a meeting at the level of Heads of State or Government on the unfolding emergency in the countries along the Western Balkans migratory route.
The objective of the meeting is to agree on common operational conclusions which could be implemented immediately.
The leaders are expected to address the need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action.
The meeting will be attended by the Heads of State or Government of Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz, European Council President Donald Tusk, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have also been invited to attend the meeting.
Representatives of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and Frontex are also expected to participate in the meeting.