Korneliya Ninova wins 81.5% of the votes of the over 80,000 socialists entitled to vote in the first direct election for chair of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). This means Ninova will continue as BSP leader for the nest 4 years. The voter turnout was 67.1%, the threshold being over 50%. 

In her first public statement after winning the party vote, BSP leader Korneliya Ninova stated that the election for chair of the BSP had demonstrated that the party was united and consolidated, BNR’s Mira Stefanova reports. 

There were four candidates in the election held on 12 September: the current leader of the BSP Korneliya Ninova, BSP deputy chairman Kiril Dobrev, and Valeri Zhablyanov and Krassimir Yankov.

The decision to hold a direct vote for chair of the BSP was taken at the Bulgarian Socialist Party congress in February 2017, on a proposal by Korneliya Ninova herself, BNT reports.