The GERB Municipal Councilor Elen Gerdzikov elected as SMC Chairman

Yesterday, the GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) Municipal Councilor, Elen Gerdzhikov was elected as Chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council (SMC) by a secret ballot. He was the only nominee for the post and took over the office on Wednesday from the already resigned former SMC chairman Andrey Ivanov.

In fact, 42 councillors out of the 55 present took part in the secret vote. 39 people voted in favour of Gerdzhikov, while three others cast empty ballot envelopes. BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party) demonstratively refused to participate in the vote.

At the beginning of the parliamentary session, Andrey Ivanov thanked the municipal councillors for their joint work, while Elen Gerdzhikov asked his colleagues to collaborate, regardless of their political affiliation. Gerdzhikov addressed the BSP municipal councillors with his expectation for receiving "professional support" from them. Besides, he addressed the right-wing with the statement: "I continue to consider you my real ally." The Sofia Mayor, Yordanka Fandakova, stated in turn, that she expected the new SMC Chairman to be "an active, energetic and well- performing chairman''.

"SMC became hostage to the group interests of the GERB party but this is unfair, even to the electorate, which has placed its trust in our party. You have turned SMC into a scapegoat of your internal conflicts," reckoned the Chairman of the BSP group with the SMC, Zhelyo Boychev.

The Blue Coalition, in turn, criticised the way in which, Andrey Ivanov submitted his resignation, as well as the manner of nominating Elen Gerdzhikov as SMC chairman candidate.

"Even the media remained misled by the alleged amendment to the Local Self-government and Local Administration Act providing that resignations should be submitted to the GERB Executive Committee, which must appoint the Chairman of the Municipal Council," commented ironically the UDF (Union of Democratic Forces) Municipal Councilor and former SMC chairman, Vladimir Kissyov.

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