On November 15, 2009 partial elections for local authorities were held in Bulgaria. According to the results only two places would have to launch a second round. In the rest of the cases winners for the mayoral seats were the candidates of the ruling GERB party. The results for the capital Sofia were most eagerly expected. The major contenders were Yordanka Fandakova from the ruling center-right party GERB /Citizens for a European Development of Bulgaria/, also supported by some other rightist parties and Georgi Kadiev from the opposition left BSP /Bulgarian Socialist Party/. Yordanka Fandakova received twice as many votes as her opponent and became the first lady mayor in the history of Sofia. For Radio Bulgaria she said that she is not worried by the fact that she would be stepping into the shoes of such a strong figure as former Mayor and current Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

“The standard Mr. Borissov has set is very high indeed. But I have been working as part of his team in the last 4 years, Fandakova said. When he started working as Mayor he had very serious issues to solve. We really needed a strong figure for solving all those problems. I think the moment has come when we should trim Sofia, attract all possible partners and especially the citizenship to the administration of the city. I think I have shown, both as deputy-mayor and as Minister of Education that I am capable of working with the civil society and together with the people we might be able to introduce a new, female approach to the management of our city.”

New Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova promised to continue her work for the long-term development of the city as a dynamic European capital city.
“In my opinion the municipality is responsible for finding strong, good projects and propose them to the government for co-financing. That is what happened in the last 3 months with Sofia’s waste processing plant, which is co-sponsored by the government. My task would be to find out the projects to offer to the Premier or the other ministers so that Sofia gets what it deserves. We should not forget that Sofia is not only the largest municipality in Bulgaria. It is the capital city, the face of Bulgaria.”

On his part Fandakova’s chief opponent Georgi Kadiev said:
“I would continue serving as a corrective, being part of the group of Municipal Councilors of the BSP in Sofia. We would continue offering alternative solutions for the rule of Sofia at the Municipal Council; an alternative we all need.”

Who is Yordanka Fandakova?

Sofia’s new Mayor Yordanka Fandakova is born on April 12, 1962 in the town of Samokov, Southwestern Bulgaria. She graduated a Russian Language School and then Russian Language Studies at Sofia University St. Kliment of Ochrida. She has gone up all the steps of a career – from being a teacher at school, then – Headmaster of German Language School 73 in Sofia, deputy-mayor of Sofia in charge of education and youth; and Minister of Education. She is now Mayor of Sofia – the 4th most influential figure in the country after the Chairman of parliament, the President and the Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

What does Sofia need and what do its citizens expect from their new Mayor?

According to a public opinion drill the city should become cleaner; transport should be improved, alleviating downtown traffic; more places for children in kinder-gardens should be ensured; the issue of stray dogs should find a solution; as well as the expansion of the capital city and the increase of it population.

English version: Iva Letnikova