Trifonov

Bulgarian talkshow host Slavi Trifonov has said it "will depend on circumstances" whether or not he will set up a party after a referendum held along with the presidential elections.

Following the three-question referendum on the voting system, Trifonov has told the media his referendum proves the status quo can be changed.

Polling stations will be open till 8pm on Sunday in Bulgaria, where over 6,834,000 citizens are entitled to cast a ballot for a new President in an unexpectedly knife-edge race.

The centre of the capital will be blocked from Friday night until Sunday morning because of the concert of Slavi Trifonov, scheduled for Saturday morning at Orlov most (Eagles Bridge).

Over 20 check points, 100 representatives of the organiser, 70 employees of Sofia Municipality and a sufficient number of policemen will guarantee the safety and security of citizens during the event.

The Bulgarian cabinet has approved the budget for this year's presidential elections and a referendum on the country's political system on October 06.

Funding for both polls will be secured from the central budget for 2016.

A Varna-based delivered on Tuesday some 100 000 additional signatures in an effort to make his 5-point referendum compulsory.

Veselin Mareshki, who says he will be running for President in the autumn, tabled a proposal earlier this year to hold a second poll with five questions, following the one by TV show host Slavi Trifonov which Parliament had approved.

Chavdar Nikolov, a cartoonist whose contract with private NOVA TV station was terminated and his video cartoon of Bulgaria's Prime Minister removed, has signed with Slavi's Show, one of the most watched evening talkshows in the country.

Slavi Trifonov, a popular TV host, has called on President Rosen Plevneliev to veto the amendments to the country's Electoral Code.

Changes voted earlier this week made it possible to hold a referendum separately from an election scheduled for the same year. Prior to that, any referendum had to be held simultaneously with a vote if these were to take place in the same year.

The competition for the appointment of a new director of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia failed to select one of the two participating candidates.

The website of the culture ministry informed that none of the two candidates for the position, namely Kamen Kostov and Filip Trifonov, had managed to garner the required minimum number of points.

Bulgarian fruit and vegetable producers are increasingly interested in expanding cooperation with hypermarkets after the adoption of amendments to the Competition Protection Act, according to Slavi Trifonov, Chair of the National Union of Gardeners.

Only 15% of the goods sold at hypermarkets in Bulgaria are domestically produced, according to the Bulgarian National Radio.