December 29 (BTA) – Maya Manolova, leader of the Izpravise.BG civic platform, and lawyer Nikolay Hadjigenov of the Toxic Trio signed an agreement to run together in the parliamentary elections next spring, Manolova said on Tuesday. The two platforms will focus on a dramatic, unconditional increase of incomes and pensions, the judicial reform, business support and an overhaul of the governance model. The Toxic Trio, made up of Hadjigenov, sculptor Velislav Minekov and PR expert Arman Babikyan, are the self-proclaimed leaders of the anti-government protests which have been going on for nearly six months. Manolova added that they agreed on joint actions before, during and after the elections. She underscored that they agreed on six key priorities, such as ensuring a fair election process, joint lists in the upcoming elections, creating a majority to dismantle Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s monocracy, and drawing up a shared governance platform based on 70 measures announced by Izpravise.BG, which will be further expanded. According to Hadjigenov, the agreement is the first step towards the creation of a broad anti-corruption coalition. “The only way is to unite in a broad coalition, everyone against corruption, because we are faced with a mastodon with billions, corruption and a lot of clout,” he added. Since neither platform is registered as a political party, Manolova explained that they will most likely run in the elections using the registration of one of the parties involved in Izpravise.BG. In Manolova’s words, a similar agreement to prevent election rigging is expected to be reached in the coming weeks with Slavi Trifonov’s There Is Such a People and with Democratic Bulgaria. RY/MT /DT/
(DF) Maya Manolova, Toxic Trio Sign Agreement to Share Ballot in 2021 Parliamentary Elections
