2009-07-04 14:54:03 -

Key players in Bulgarian parliamentary elections Sunday
BOIKO BORISOV, 50: Two-time mayor of Sofia. In 2006, Borisov formed his party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, or GERB, which won the most seats in last month's election for European Parliament. GERB is tipped to win the majority of the votes Sunday, and Borisov could form the next cabinet.
SERGEI STANISHEV, 43: Stanishev rose to prominence in 2001 when he replaced Georgi Parvanov, Bulgaria's incumbent president, as Socialist leader. His Socialist-led government took Bulgaria into the European Union, but its rule was criticized for its inability to fight widespread graft.
AHMED DOGAN, 55: Leader of the mainly Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms since 1990. Dogan has been a legislator in all of Bulgaria's post-communist parliaments. His centrist party is a coalition partner in the incumbent government.
VOLEN SIDEROV, 53: A well-known journalist and writer, Siderov formed his Attack Party in 2005 to become the first far-right parliamentary force in Bulgaria's post-communist history. He has managed to boost his party's popularity with ultra-nationalist slogans.


IVAN KOSTOV, 59: Bulgaria's prime minister from 1997 until 2001. An economist, Kostov served as finance minister in two earlier cabinets. In 2004, he broke away from Bulgaria's main anti-communist party, the Union of Democratic Forces, to form a new party called «Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria.» Ahead of this year's elections, both parties formed the new Blue Coalition.
MARTIN DIMITROV, 32: Dimitrov heads the Union of Democratic Forces and is co-chairman of the Blue Coalition.