'We Continue the Change': The Election Results Are a Clear Signal from Citizens that the Government’s Policies Are Not Good for Bulgaria

The election results send a clear message from the citizens that the government’s policies are not good for Bulgaria. This was the comment made by Asen Vasilev, leader of “We Continue the Change,” to BNT after the polls closed on October 25.

Asen Vasilev, chairman of “We Continue the Change”: “In my opinion, this is an extremely clear signal from Bulgarian citizens that the government’s policies are not good for Bulgaria—at least that is how most citizens see it—and that Ms. Iotova is unable to fulfill her role as a corrective force. When something is good, she should say, ‘This is good,’ but when something isn’t good, she should say, ‘This isn’t good.’ And in my view, this must be very clearly understood by all parties in Parliament as well, and we really need to start working toward better incomes, start working toward a budget that doesn’t impoverish people, and ensure that all the things citizens expect actually happen. At the very least, they should be protected.

-BNT: The most important question in the week ahead is: what reserves will you rely on, and will there be a leadership review on the centre-right?

Asen Vasilev, Chair of “We Continue the Change”:“I think what these results have made clear is that presidential elections are truly a majoritarian vote. Here, you can see very clearly that the size of party support bases has almost no effect on the final result we are seeing at the moment. I would like to congratulate all the citizens who came out and voted, regardless of whom they voted for, because this is extremely important. This is how Bulgaria can move forward.
“From this point on, I believe we can rely on all citizens whose candidates have not progressed, as well as all those who did not find the strength or a reason to go out and vote. They should vote today. They should do so next Sunday, so that we can have a fairer and more secure country, and a genuine corrective force to hold the government to account when it gets things wrong.”

- BNT: And yet, will you speak to the leaders of the two political formations that seem to have remained inactive during this election? I am referring to GERB and DPS. Will you seek support from Peevski and Borisov?

- You know, Mr Gyurov has not spoken to us to ask for support. We made the decision to support him ourselves. I believe every Bulgarian citizen must decide for themselves what kind of Bulgaria they want to live in and whether to support Mr Gyurov. If someone decides to support Mr Gyurov, they are welcome to do so. But we should not go down the path of political parties acting as though they need to be begged to offer their support, because that would lead to a president who is dependent on them and has to accommodate the parties. That would not lead to anything good. We must have a president who is truly independent.”