Ex-Communist Wins Bulgaria's Presidential Vote

Bulgarians vented their frustrations over poverty and accusations of corruption by ousting President Petar Stoyanov on Sunday and electing a former Communist in his place.

The winning vote for Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov, 44, brought to an end a bizarre election year in which Bulgaria's last king -- thrown out by the communists in 1946 -- was returned by an overwhelming majority as prime minister in mid-June.

Stoyanov, 49, conceded defeat in a close run-off vote late on Sunday, ending a meteoric career which had started when he shot from obscurity to the presidency in 1996.

"My biggest pain is for the people who voted for me. We were just one step away from victory and I am sure they feel very dramatic about this loss," Stoyanov told reporters.

A triumphant Parvanov, head of the former Communist Party, said he was ready to work with the government of former King Simeon II -now Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg -and pursue Bulgaria's aims of joining NATO and the European Union.

(China Daily November 19, 2001)