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Agence France-Presse

Bulgaria’s centre-right Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stepped down Sunday after his presidential nominee suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a Moscow-friendly general backed by the Socialist opposition.
Observers say the surprise win could tilt ex-communist Bulgaria, which has long walked a tightrope between Moscow and Brussels, towards Russia’s orbit - a trend seen across eastern and central Europe amid rising euroscepticism.
Nearby Moldova also looked set to elect a pro-Russian president on Sunday.
“I will hand in my resignation tomorrow or the day after,” Borisov told reporters.
“The results clearly show that the ruling coalition no longer holds the majority.”
The announcement is likely to trigger early elections by next spring and risks plunging Bulgaria into renewed political turmoil just two years after Borisov and his GERB party took office for the second time.
It came shortly after projections showed that ex-airforce chief and political novice Rumen Radev had swept close to 60 per cent of ballots in the presidential vote. Borisov’s nominee ex-parliament speaker Tsetska Tsacheva obtained just over 35 per cent.
“It’s a victory for all Bulgarian people. Democracy has beaten apathy and fear today,” Radev told public broadcaster BNT on Sunday evening.
The straight-laced Tsacheva meanwhile failed to sway disgruntled voters seeking to punish the government over its perceived failure to tackle rampant corruption and poverty in the European Union’s poorest member state.
“I voted against Borisov because I don’t think that he’s honest and he hasn’t really done anything to improve our lives,” said 52-year-old Zora Kardachka, a dry-cleaner.
Gallup director Parvan Simeonov said the outcome was a “clear protest vote”.
Despite promised reforms, graft and poverty remain rife in the EU’s poorest member state, while public anger has also grown over thousands of migrants currently stranded in Bulgaria.
“Bulgaria needs a new face, someone who defends national interests instead of always saying ‘Yes’ to the European Union and the United States,” businessman Assen Dragov, 39, told AFP after casting his vote in Sofia.
The Bulgarian president’s role is largely ceremonial but the incumbent is nonetheless a respected figure and commander-in-chief of the Nato member’s armed forces.
National security and preventing a new migrant influx featured prominently in Radev’s campaign, which saw the general gain confidence and project himself as a fierce critic of the conservative status-quo.
His clear support for the lifting of EU sanctions on Russia over Ukraine and ambivalent statements about the EU and Nato have prompted analysts to speculate that he could pursue closer ties with Moscow.
“General Radev’s victory represents the unfolding of a pro-Russian scenario in Bulgaria so that the country supports Russian interests in the EU and Nato,” political expert Antoniy Galabov said.
In his victory speech, Radev reiterated his support for scrapping sanctions against Russia.
“I will closely work with the government and EU colleagues to achieve the lifting of the sanctions,” he told a press conference on Sunday evening.
He also praised new US president-elect Donald Trump for “seeking more dialogue with Russia” and President Vladimir Putin.
“This gives a lot of hope for reducing (the risk) of confrontation, particularly in Syria” where Russia and the US are backing opposite sides in a bloody civil war, Radev said.
His victory signals a change of direction from outgoing President Rosen Plevneliev, a strong critic of Moscow.
The incumbent head of state warned Sunday that Russia was trying to “destabilise Europe” by financing anti-EU ultra-nationalists in Balkan states including in Bulgaria.
“The (climate) is more dangerous now than during the Cold War,” he told Austrian media.
Radev is due to take office on January 22 for a five-year term. His first job will likely be to call early elections, after Borisov said Sunday he would refuse to form an interim government.


Bulgaria’s PM quits after pro-Russia candidate wins presidential vote

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announces his resignation during a press conference on Sunday in Sofia. Photo: AFP

Former head of the Bulgarian airforce Rumen Radev and leading candidate of the opposition Socialists catches an apple thrown by a journalist during a news conference in Sofia on November 13, 2016. Bulgarians vote today in a closely fought presidential run-off that could spark a government crisis if the candidate of centre-right Prime Minister Boyko Borisov fails to win against a left-leaning general. / AFP PHOTO / NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV

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