The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) has won the municipal council elections in Pazardzhik, securing 17.13% of the vote, according to the results announced by the Municipal Electoral Commission (MEC) after 100% of tally sheets were processed.
Fourteen parties entered the Municipal Council and the seats were allocated as follows: MRF – 8; Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB) – 6; Freedom Party – 5; BSP–United Left – 4; the VMRO–Bulgarian National Movement coalition (VMRO–BNM, UFD) – 3; GERB – 3; Morality, Initiative, Patriotism (MIR) – 2; Vazrazhdane – 2; Forward Bulgaria Movement – 2; Direct Democracy – 2; Velichie – 1; Together for a Strong Municipality – 1; George’s Day Movement – 1; and Agrarian People’s Union – 1.
The elections on Sunday saw a voter turnout of 35.09%, with voters choosing from 597 candidates competing for the 41 available seats. The vote came after the Supreme Administrative Court annulled the municipal council elections held on October 29, 2023, in a ruling issued on July 17. Although CC–DB’s Petar Kulenski won the mayoral race in 2023, he had governed with a fragile and shifting majority in the council, where CC–DB had only four councillors. The previous council dominated by the group around former mayor Todor Popov was reinstated following the court’s decision.
Sunday’s vote was marred by alerts for election violations. The police in Pazardzhik received a total of 34 alerts, with 12 of them related to a case in the village of Ognyanovo, Pazardzhik Region, and 16 concerning suspected vote buying in the regional town and several villages in the municipality – Saraya, Bratanitsa, Mokrishte, Malo Konare, Dragor, and Glavinitsa. Eight of the alerts were for election violations and ten were for illegal campaigning.
Yes, Bulgaria! co-chair Bozhidar Bozhanov said the party would consult with Continue the Change, Democrats for Strong Bulgaria and legal experts about seeking annulment of the election results, citing “unprecedented vote buying.”
His fellow co-chair, Ivaylo Mirchev, said that he personally observed voting in one of the villages. “The results show that [MRF – New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski bought the election once again,” Mirchev said, calling it part of a broader process – “on one hand, the capture of institutions, and on the other, the weakening of GERB and the humiliation of [GERB leader Boyko] Borissov, who ended up as the sixth political force in Pazardzhik.” He also criticized the Interior Ministry’s handling of the situation, noting that police had found luxury vehicles containing large sums of cash and voting lists in the Roma neighborhood in Ognyanovo but failed to take action. “The police just said everything was fine. Everything is fine, when Peevski controls the Ministry and the prosecution,” Mirchev added.
At a news conference on Monday, CC leader Assen Vassilev said his party was reaching out to newly elected councillors who oppose Delyan Peevski and MRF-New Beginning running the town. Vassilev talked about “disgraceful and humiliating scenes, particularly for the regular police officers” in Ognyanovo, and accused Interior Minister Daniel Mitov and the Ministry’s leadership of betraying rank-and-file officers by ordering them not to pursue vote buyers. “For an hour and a half they were not allowed to open a car boot. We saw BGN 50 banknotes livestreamed online, yet the Interior Ministry later told a news conference that no crime had occurred and that those individuals were businessmen hiring workers on election day,” Vassilev said. He said CC-DB demanded Mitov’s resignation.
Pazardzhik Mayor Petar Kulenski said the town needs constructive dialogue and cross-party consensus to take key decisions for the its future.
Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov also reacted, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the election. He said that the local elections in Pazardzhik had showed yet again that “Bulgaria is increasingly falling into the hands of the mafia.” “The results clearly show that [Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader Delyan] Peevski has taken over GERB’s vote buyers. As a result, he and his proxies have the most municipal councillors. GERB is now the sixth political force,” Kostadinov said, adding that his party maintained its previous result. MRF Wins Municipal Council Elections in Pazardzhik amid Growing Concerns over Electoral Integrity THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-13 18:54:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
