Dobrin Kanev

At the beginning of the campaign for the European Parliament elections in Bulgaria, most polls placed the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) either in the first place, or at slight difference after GERB, but in any case, with a real chance of winning this election. Such was the declared objective of the Bulgarian socialists. However, the votes cast on the ballot on May 26, 2019 showed a different picture: BSP ranked second for the fourth consecutive time, with a considerable distance from the first – GERB. The article seeks to answer the question regarding the dimensions and reasons for the results of BSP in the elections. This is done by tracing the overall process of preparing and conducting the campaign, from the formation of the candidate list and the adoption of the election platform, through the course and eatures of the Socialist’s Party campaign. The campaign results are compared with previous results of the Socialists and with the results of the main competitor since 2007 – GERB.

The article tracks all aspects of the presidential candidacy of Roumen Radev: the process of his nomination, campaign and performance. Subject of detailed analysis is the campaign of the candidate in its various aspects - organization, party support, financing, direct campaign, media appearances, participation in election debates. The author presents a picture of his convincing victory in the presidential elections in Bulgaria in 2016. On the background of broader economic, social, political, cultural context during the campaign and election are shown the internal factors that led to this result – the effective support by the party BSP, the personal and political qualities of the candidate, the campaign performance.