Bulgaria's presidential race started with a surprise. Presidential candidate Velichka Georgieva told reporters she has had no contact with her running mate, vice-presidential candidate Rosen Ivanov, for days. The Central Election Commission has already registered the pair as an independent ticket, put forward by an initiative committee, for the October 25 election. Their number on the ballot is 20.
"Ever since they announced us as a pair, he's vanished and I can't reach him. I can't go to every studio and interview on my own," Georgieva told reporters outside the presidential building, according to Lupa.bg. Such an admission is rare for a ticket that is already officially in the race and still has to get its campaign properly under way.
Rosen Ivanov has stayed silent so far and has not commented publicly on the situation. Why he is acting this way remains a mystery. It is not clear where he is or why he has cut off contact with Georgieva. She has not reported him missing to police, though, so "vanished" seems to mean the two are simply not in touch, not that he has actually disappeared without trace.
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The commission's paperwork on the ticket is in full order. The initiative committee behind the Georgieva-Ivanov bid was registered on September 10, and the nomination for the pair itself was filed a little later, on September 17. After the national civil registration agency GRAO confirmed at least 2,500 signatures backing them, the commission formally registered them as candidates. In the draw on September 24, they were assigned number 20 on the ballot.
Because of the situation, Georgieva has so far been on stage alone at the start of the campaign. She says this is already a serious problem - interviews, meetings with voters and media appearances are normally split between the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and now she has to handle everything herself. She has been regularly posting campaign material on social media and reminding voters of the ticket's number. Some of her posts touch on other candidates in the race, but without a clear explanation from her, these should not be read as an endorsement.
See the ballot numbers for all presidential tickets
Besides her missing running mate, Velichka Georgieva has drawn attention with other statements since launching her campaign. She has talked about possible influence by Masonic circles and "dark forces" over how the country is run - claims that are only her personal belief and are not backed by any evidence.
Attention around her candidacy is now turning to a far more down-to-earth question: when will Rosen Ivanov finally show up in public alongside her and join the campaign. Until then, the official picture stays the same - the two remain a registered presidential ticket with number 20 for the October 25 election.