The local elections are those with the greatest importance. They have the biggest impact on the daily life of the citizens. They are actually choosing their direct representatives in the local parliaments, along with the mayors. And those are the politicians who have the influence on everything which is related with the people's activities in their work, school and kindergartens.
This is what the Bulgarian MP Georg Georgiev from the GERB-SDS political party, and head of the parliamentary delegation to PACE, said in an interview with BGNES.
With him, we discussed the importance of local elections for the daily life of citizens and the impact of the vote on the political landscape in Bulgaria.
“Local elections have the biggest impact on the daily life of the citizens. All of the challenges are addressed to the municipality councilors and the mayors. So the thing which we are saying to the people we are meeting with is the following: please choose the way of how you would like to live in the upcoming four years”, Georgiev said.
“The parliamentary elections and presidential elections are extremely important as well, even though in the last two years we saw what happened. But the local elections are those which will influence your daily life in any manner you can imagine.”, he added. (4 parliamentary elections have been held in Bulgaria in the last 2 years).
According to Georg Georgiev, in some manners, the local elections are more important because the people feel the results and the consequences of their choices on local level more than when they elect their representatives in the parliament, for example.
“People meet their representatives in the local parliaments and the mayors in their daily life. They meet them in person so they can address them with the challenges, with the problems, with the difficulties”, Georgiev said
So if you have some problem with your street or with your kids’ kindergarten, where you go? You go to the mayor or you go to the municipality councillor or the regional governor. That's why I think that the voting rates are higher most of the times compared to the parliamentary elections, because when people vote, they know who exactly they're voting to. That's why the local elections are underlined with very big personal activity and the majority element is gigantic“, he further added.
Asked by BGNES on the impact of the vote on the future of the government "Denkov-Gabriel", the MP said: “Well, it will measure the capacity of the parties which are supporting the government. So if we (GERB) as the main political party in the parliament have the more mayors and municipality councilors, it will once again confirm our first position on national level as well.”
“I meet the people and I know what they think about “We Continue the Change” and their partners. And I see that the people don't want to repeat these recent two years they had. They want the stability in the municipalities, which are the backbone of the country. They want this stability to remain, and they want the most experienced and those with the most knowledge about the regions to remain on their positions and in offices. So voters don't want amateurs and people who are about to learn on their shoulders to appear in the local institutions”, Georgiev emphasized.
He thinks that the vote will show what's the attitude of the people for the last two years and for the way of how the country was governed.
“Denkov government will receive a mark from the people for its work due to the results of the elections. And I think that the role of Mrs. Gabriel in this government will be marked as well because you see what's her activity when it comes to very important international topics in which Bulgaria has significant role and what's from the other side, the attitude of the rest of the members of the cabinet”, noted Georgiev.
He emphasized the work of the National Assembly, “which is dominated by GERB”.
“No decision can be taken without GERB. So this stability and this way of making predictable policy in any respect energy, anti corruption, economy, finance, budget - it depends on GERB, of course, and on the “Movement for rights and freedoms” with whom we are making not only this stability, but professional way of producing political decisions.”
„You see what's the rest of the parties in the parliament… the opposition and “We Continue the Change”. And yes, they're still learning how to be in favor of the country failing in many ways. But I still believe that GERB will remain the first political force in the country“, noted the MP.
He thinks that the candidates of “We Continue the Change” - the main opponents of GERB in these elections - are unknown to ordinary people.
“People just don't recognize the candidates. And it's very simple. These candidates and the party which they're representing is not present anyhow, especially in the smaller municipalities. I can’t even see the candidates, I can’t see the support coming from their Party. I can’t see the engagements their party is giving them for having support, for example, for budgeting, or for the regional development, or for any kind of basic promises and prognosis, if their candidate wins”, Georgiev commented.
“I think that this influences people because they can't feel the soil under their feet and they know that only in the face of GERB and our representatives, they have this strong team because the Party is a matter of team. We have specialists and experts on any level of the country governance. And our partners, they're just not oriented still in the political landscape of the country. I think this can be felt by the voters and they will give their voice for this as well.”
In his message to the Bulgarian people, MP Georg Georgiev underlined the importance of the choice they will make.
“Realize the importance of these elections! It's once for four years. What you vote today will be the future of your town, of your village, of your city for the next four years. If you want your region to remain stable, to continue its development as it used to be for the last years of governance provided by GERB, please choose us. If you want your town to be a copy of the state from the last two years of instability, of lack of any prognosis - you have the other answer. But I don't think that the Bulgarians want the other option because we saw that it's a destruction. /BGNES
