Ex-President Parvanov To Run for Socialist Party Leader
Thursday, 01 January 1970
Former president Georgi Parvanov said he will run in the May elections for leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
"There will be no struggle for the top position in BSP [Bulgarian Socialist Party]. I will run for it," state-run Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) quoted Parvanov as telling journalists in Burgas.
His decision comes six weeks after his second term as president ended. Parvanov was BSP leader from 1997 to 2001.
Parvanov said BSP needs to have at least 140 seats in the 240-member Parliament in order to be able to make decisions and carry out unpopular reforms.
According to BSP's incumbent leader Sergei Stanishev, who has said he will run for another term at the helm of the party, Parvanov's decision draws a divide within the party.