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Pro-Western alliance sweeping Bulgarian vote
In this story:April 19, 1997
- Supporters waltz in the streets
- Socialist leader says party was misunderstood
- Country faces painful steps to recovery
- Related story and sites
Web posted at: 10:23 p.m. EDT (0223 GMT)SOFIA, Bulgaria (CNN) -- Bulgarian voters Saturday dealt a crushing blow to the ex-Communist Bulgarian Socialist Party, opting for economic reforms undertaken years ago by most of the country's eastern European neighbors.
BULGARIA: At a Glance
The Socialists were forced in February to call new elections after a month of street protests over the country's economic misery.
"It is important now that we convince the world that a relapse into the past is out of the question," said Ivan Kostov, leader of the victorious Union of Democratic Forces.
Partial official returns released early Sunday gave the pro-Western UDF and its coalition allies 57.6 percent of the vote.
Final results are not expected until Monday, but an independent telephone poll concluded that the alliance would probably gain 136 seats in the 240-seat parliament. That would give the coalition the majority it needs to govern.
Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, an anti-Communist elected president last November, made clear in a televised news conference that Kostov, an economist, would be Bulgaria's new premier.
Kostov pledged that the new government would carry out reforms in accordance with the International Monetary Fund, fight organized crime and corruption, and open secret police files on public figures. He also said he would push to bring Bulgaria into the European Union and NATO.
Supporters waltz in the streets
About 10,000 supporters of Kostov's party celebrated the victory outside the National Palace of Culture, many dancing cheek-to-cheek to the "Last Waltz" -- an ironic farewell song for the outgoing Communists.
Under the ex-Communists' mismanagement and corruption, inflation soared to 300 percent by the end of last year, pushing wages and pensions far below subsistence levels.
"We've never been in such total economic catastrophe, not only economic, but spiritual as well," said UDF spokesman Yevgeny Bakardijev. "People have lost all faith in everything, and they feel lost."
A total of 4,448 candidates representing 35 parties and coalitions are contending for parliamentary seats, and they must capture at least 4 percent to enter parliament.
The UDF, which led protests earlier this year, won elections in 1991, but lost power in a no-confidence vote the following year.
Socialist leader says party was misunderstood
The Socialists got their turn in 1994 by promising the voters less-painful reform. But their plan turned out to be no reform at all, and the country is now on the brink of economic collapse.
According to factory owner Boris Gavrilov, the Socialists were more interested in personal profit than in making market reforms.
"The Socialists are a Red Mafia, and they want to possess everything that exists in Bulgaria," Gavrilov says. "They do not want privatization, and they want no foreign investment."
Socialist Party leader Georgy Parvanov claims his party tried to implement reforms, but was misunderstood.
"Although we tried to move forward with the reform, what we lacked was openness, direct contact with the people," he says. "Ultimately we were not understood, and for this our efforts failed."
His party is still expected to be the biggest opposition party, because it commands loyalty among older Bulgarians nostalgic for the Communist era when food was cheap and crime rates were low. Bulgaria has 2.3 million pensioners among a population of 8.4 million.
Country faces painful steps to recovery
Bulgaria's next government faces a tremendous challenge. Painful reforms and belt-tightening are needed to get the devastated economy back on track.
Already, the devalued monetary system is such that a doctor's salary buys only a few pounds (kilograms) of meat, and a pension even less. The average salary is $40 to $50 a month.
But the country now has no other choice than to carry out reforms. The International Monetary Fund and other lenders have agreed to lend Bulgaria $1.2 billion on the condition that reforms are carried out, including strict monetary controls and the privatization of industry.
CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva and Reuters contributed to this report.
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- Republic of Bulgaria Parliamentary Election Results (Cisbe)
- Bulgaria on the Internet
- Bulgarian Association for Fair Elections and
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