Политика

The big surprise in August 2004. in Velingrad is the application for a new majority in the Municipal Council. Avalanche of events not only did not allow for summer leave of counselors, but catalyzed expected and unexpected processes. Within two days - 16 and 17 August, an extraordinary meeting of the local parliament was held, which took key decisions: to terminate the contract signed by the interim mayor Stoyan Dulev indefinite for the purity with the company "Beev and Beev"; to continue the contract with the municipal company "Stroycom"; to refer to the District Prosecutor's Office for the actions of Mr. Dulev; by 17 votes were terminated the powers of Mr. Dulev was elected as interim mayor.
For the first time in the recent history of the Municipal Council - Velingrad, there was an unprecedented general vote between 8 parties: BSP, UDF, NDSV, BZNS-NS, SDS, Roma, Liberal Union, Bulgarian Social Democracy and the only independent councilor Georgi Mihaylov. The interest, comments and analyses on this fact are many and are in the wide range of furious criticism to stormy applause. The newspaper "Tempo" sought the opinion of the main characters in another episode of local political life - the municipal councilors of the new majority. We addressed them with the question "What is the reason for unification - political or public interest?". Here are the answers of some of the 17 councillors:
Nadezhda Klyuchkova, NDSV: You can talk about a political agreement between the eight parties. We can talk about a moral agreement and about fulfilling our obligations to the voter. A moral obligation to comply with the laws which in the Municipality of Velingrad are circumvented and subordinated to private interests. The deal on the public order for cleanliness and Stroycom is the drop that overflowed the glass and united the sane councillors. This is a deal in which many laws have been broken and public interests violated. These are facts before which we cannot and have no right to turn a blind eye.
Toma Pachalov, BSP: The municipal councilors from the BSP interacted and secured a majority in the Municipal Council with the municipal councilors of the DPS and the Green Party, led by the idea of enabling the newly elected municipal administration to practically show its intentions and capabilities. We think that's the civilized approach. We didn't sign a political agreement. We have always stated that intentions and actions that contradict the zdakon and harm the interests of the citizens of the municipality will not be supported. An act of this nature is the concluded contract for the cleaning of the city. Not only legal but also moral norms have been violated. Our new position is neither against personalities nor for personalities. It is consistent in terms of our perceptions of the normal development of the municipality. For the new majority, we should not rush to definite conclusions and forecasts. The processes are dynamic, the interests of the individual parties are divergent. It is too early to talk about a lasting political agreement, but we do not exclude it. Time is upon us. We want and will make an effort to make things work for the better.
Asim Adem, Liberal Union Party: I categorically state that the public interest is at the forefront! The public was very interested in where the municipality and Velingrad would go after the elections, what its future development would be. In just a few months people saw where we were going and this is the reason why the 17 municipal councilors made a decision to change things and start working tangibly for the people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Mine is that of these 17 municipal councillors, no one defends personal or party interests. It's just time to work for the people.
Dr. Tsvetan Dafov, UDF: It is a fact that public interests determine politics. When there are persistent wrongdoings in the work of the Municipal Administration and it is entirely subordinated to private interests, it is quite normal and natural for the municipal councilors to react because they are elected by the citizens to protect their interests, the interests of the society. The municipal council is the first line that not only must, but is obliged to resist these violations. I insist on saying that I am not personally against anyone, but I am convinced that the sustainable development of the municipality and the city should continue. My cause is Velingrad and the municipality today and tomorrow and this dictates my behavior as a municipal councilor. In this sense, I believe that it is mandatory to unite the municipal councilors and the people in order to protect the interests of the municipality, and hence the citizens. I categorically reject the totalitarian methods of governance and compromise on this issue I will not do either as a municipal councilor or as chairman of the UDF.
Alexander Daskalov, Bulgarian Social Democracy Party: In the last 7-8 months the municipality of Velingrad has not developed at all. Donor projects such as "Beautiful Bulgaria" are refused. The municipality serves the corporate interests of several companies, which is not in the interest of the residents of the municipality. These circumstances led to the unification of most political forces in the Municipal Council. The purpose of this unification is for the municipality to be taken out of the stalemate and for Velingrad to take this worthy place, which is due to it.
Atanaska Hrischeva, UDF: What is meant by politics and public interest? Good politics means a protected public interest. There is nothing to talk about - the policy of the current leadership of the Municipality is not good and the public interest is seriously affected. These are not just talk, there are also wrongdoings and political dismissals. I don't mean myself, I mean everyone fired after me, who are from different political forces or non-partisan. All 17 councillors are from different parties, and there are independents. What does that say? That the interests of different sections of our society are affected. And what should we, the municipal councilors, do? The answer is self-imposed: unite and work together to protect the interests of those who elected us.
Ekaterina Kaferinova, BZNS-NS: Of course the unification of the 17 is dictated by the public interest. It is known that when a political union is made there are also agreements, we have none. Even for the last vote, which was about the resignation of Mr. Dulev as V.I.D. The mayor did not have any preliminary talks. The reason was the public procurement for the cleanliness, which for obvious reasons was conducted very extreme and as a result created tension. More than 100 employees of Stroycom, which has 100% municipal participation, were threatened to become unemployed. The fate of the company was in the hands of the Municipal Council and 17 municipal councilors from different political parties and independents defended them. In my opinion, the Municipal Administration should have solved the issue with this municipal enterprise first and then possibly followed a procedure according to the law. To be precise, what used to be called the "majority" could be said to be political. As for the current one, it is caused by the need and the situation and works in the interest of the citizens of Velingrad and the municipality.
Stefan Asenov, Roma Party: The unification of the 17 councillors of the Municipal Council is not at all political. We are all representatives of different political forces and independents. For example, the political interests of the right-wing UDF and the left-wing BSP cannot coincide, except when it comes to protecting the interests of the people of this city. It should be clear to the representatives of the executive power that when a person is working in the right direction and this work is good for society, such a person can only be helped. But when it works to the detriment of the people and of the intelligentsia, then it hurts the most and the unification of representatives from different political parties and independent advisers is inevitable.
Tempo