Bulgaria's ruling party GERB nominates Yordanka Fandukova as Sofia mayoral candidate
Incumbent Yordanka Fandukova is Bulgarian ruling party GERB's candidate for Sofia mayor in the October 23 2011 municipal elections, the party officially confirmed on August 30.Fandukova has been mayor of Sofia since 2009, succeeding GERB leader Boiko Borissov after he became Prime Minister. A former schoolteacher and headmistress, Fandukova served briefly in Borissov's cabinet as education minister.Her candidacy has been telegraphed several times by GERB election campaign chief, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who repeatedly has described her as the "most obvious" candidate.The announcement came at the close of the latest round of disclosures by GERB of its 264 mayoral candidates.Speaking at a news conference on August 30, Tsvetanov said that Fandukova had been chosen because of her personal qualities, including her dedication, kindness and ability to listen to people.Her election in November 2009 made Fandukova (49) the Bulgarian capital city's first woman mayor.Garnering just more than 66 per cent of the vote, she defeated Bulgarian Socialist Party candidate Georgi Kadiev, who in 2011 again is the socialist candidate for mayor of Sofia.Before her candidacy was announced, opinion polls gave Fandukova a strong chance of winning a second term. (Source: Sofia News Agency)