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Maya Manolova

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Maya Manolova
Member of the National Assembly
In office
15 April 2021 – 15 September 2021
Constituency23rd MMC - Sofia
In office
11 July 2005 – 8 October 2015
Constituency10th MMC - Kyustendil
Leader of Stand Up.BG
Assumed office
6 December 2019
Preceded byPosition established
3rdNational Ombudswoman of Bulgaria
In office
20 October 2015 – 3 September 2019
Preceded byKonstantin Penchev
Succeeded byDiana Kovacheva
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly
In office
21 May 2013 – 6 August 2014
SpeakerMihail Mikov
Preceded byEkaterina Mihaylova
Succeeded byYanaki Stoilov
Personal details
Born(1965-05-04)4 May 1965(age 59)
Kyustendil,PR Bulgaria
Political partyStand Up.BG(2019–present)
Solidary Bulgaria(2024–present)
Other political
affiliations		BSP(1990–2015)
Communist Party(1989–1990)
Spouse(s)
Milen Manolov
​
​
(m.2000;div.2007)​

Angel Naydenov
​
(m.2016)​
Children1
Alma materMoscow University
University of National and World Economy
OccupationLawyer,Politician
Websitehttps://mayamanolova.bg/For her candidacy as Mayor of Sofia

Maya Bozhidarova Manolova(Bulgarian:Мая Божидарова Манолова;born 4 May 1965) is aBulgarianpolitician and the leader of the political movementStand Up.BG,part of theStand Up! Mafia, get out!coalition. She was formerly the vice-chairpersonas well as a deputy in theBulgarian National Assembly,as wellNational Ombudsman of Bulgaria.

Biography[edit]

Manolova was born on 4 May 1965 inKyustendil.She attended the SovietKomsomolUniversity in Moscow and for 2 years she attended courses in Law and Economics at the BulgarianUniversity of National and World Economy,as well as completing a specialty program in social management. Manolova was a registered attorney in her home town of Kyustendil from 1998 to 2015.[1][2]

Political career[edit]

Member and Deputy Chairperson of the National Assembly[edit]

She became a member of Bulgaria'sNational Assembly,representing theBulgarian Socialist Partyin August 2005, taking part in numerous parliamentary commissions.[2]

In 2008, she took control of theSocialist Party'sKyustendilbranch.[1]

Following the2013 Bulgarian parliamentary election,she was elected as Deputy Speaker of Bulgaria's national assembly. She lost that position after her party's exit from government following the2014 Bulgarian parliamentary election,but was reеlected as a member of the National Assembly for another term.[3][2]Upon the resignation ofSergey Stanishevas party chair in July 2014, she unsuccessfully participated in theSocialist Party leadership election,placing fifth with the support of 83 delegates.[4]Manolova was one of the ideologists of the machine voting in Bulgaria. During the 42nd National Assembly, she was the chief of the parliamentary commission for creating a new electoral codex which was known as the "Manolova Electoral Codex" and for the first time in Bulgarian history machine voting was introduced, although later delayed byGERB.[5]

Ombudsman[edit]

Manolova was appointed asOmbudsmanof Bulgaria by the National Assembly on 20 October 2015. Even though the rulingGERBparty, her socialist party's largest rival, initially rejected her candidacy, it eventually voted in its favour after all of the other parliamentary groups in the national assembly announced their support for it.[6]She left the Socialist Party in order to take up her new position, as Bulgarian law doesn't allow the ombudsman to be a member of a political party.[7]

Manolova was extremely active during her tenure as Ombudsman, helping push through several landmark laws as she positioned herself as a "defender of the little people", which made her very popular among the Bulgarian public. By early 2019, she was one of the only two Bulgarian politicians (the other being PresidentRumen Radev) with an approval rating above 50%.[8][9]She resigned as Ombudsman in early September 2019, citing "systematic neglect of the ombudsman institution" and a "lack of political will" by the National Assembly, as well as her intention to run for Mayor ofSofia,Bulgaria's capital and largest city.[10]

Candidate for Mayor of Sofia[edit]

After resigning as Ombudsman, she entered into the race forMayor of Sofiain the2019 Bulgarian local electionsas an independent candidate without a formal affiliation to a political party.[11]Nevertheless, the Sofia branch of theBulgarian Socialist Partydecided to support and formally endorse her candidacy several days later on 11 September.[12]Her candidacy was deemed as the first seriousleft-wingchallenge for the position of Mayor of Sofia since the end of thesocialist period,as following the end of that period Sofia was typically seen as a very safe election forGERBand a stronghold ofcentre-rightandright-wing politics.[13][14]

Following the first round of the election Manolova secured a runoff round, in which she faced longstanding Mayor of SofiaYordanka Fandakovafrom Bulgaria's rulingGERBparty.[15]Although her opponent Fandakova failed to secure a majority of votes even on the second round of the election, she was nevertheless elected as Mayor of Sofia, as she managed a lead over Manolova by about 4% of the vote.[16]

Manolova expressed doubts as to the fairness of the election, expressing the opinion that "the entirety of theBulgarian undergroundhad been mobilized "to swing the election in favour of her opponent.[17]

A week after the vote, Manolova officially filed a motion before the Bulgarian judiciary for the election in Sofia to be annulled and rerun, presenting 14 folders of what she dubbed as evidence of "heavy violations" of Bulgaria's electoral code and law, which she deemed had undermined the fairness of the election and skewed its result.[18]

In addition, she filed another civil lawsuit for 15,000Bulgarian levagainst Bulgarian Prime Minister and GERB leaderBoyko Borisovpersonally. She accused Borisov of "false" and "defamatory" comments due to a statement he made in a television interview in the run-up to the second round of the election, in which he accused her of illegally buying votes fromRomaniin one of Sofia's districts. She pledged that if granted, she would donate all of the proceeds to fund the construction of a children's playground in that district.[19]

Political project[edit]

Further information:Stand Up.BG

In late 2019, following Sofia's Mayoral election, Manolova launched a civic movementStand Up.BG,which she stated would not become a political party or affiliate itself to such, but would leverage political demands against Bulgaria's government. She stated that she would not run for leadership of Bulgaria's Socialist Party, nor for President of Bulgaria, and would instead dedicate her work to her new project.[20]She described the project as a "civic platform" on a national scale, which would aim to coordinate actions of individual citizens andNGOsto "fight against monopolies and overconstruction and forliving wages,a fair business environment, the lessening of the administrative burden on citizens and the securing of fair elections ".[21]

After theApril 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary elections,the coalition which she led,Stand up! Mafia, get out!(later,Stand Up.BG! We are coming!), was part of the 45th and 46th Bulgarian National Assembly. During thoseNational AssembliesManolova headed a parliamentary commission which revised the 11-year rule ofGERB.[22]Despite numerous efforts from her parliamentary group and the one ofDemocratic Bulgaria,they could not reach an agreement with the first political powerThere is Such a Peopleto form a government. Manolova and the leader ofDemocratic BulgariaHristo Ivanovshared their concerns thatThere is Such a People'sactions were dictated by theMovement for Rights and FreedomsandGERB.[23]Tensions rose so much that once Manolova accusedSlavi Trifonovfrom the parliamentary tribune of trying to persuade her to not become a candidate for mayor of Sofia back in 2019 "for something in return".[24]In November 2021 there were bothparliamentary and presidential elections.The coalitionStand Up.BG! We are coming!led by Manolova was the first one to support the run for re-election of the incumbent PresidentRumen Radev.[25]He went on to win the presidential elections, but Manolova's formation could not enter parliament.[26]After the coalition could not enter parliament, it dissolved itself. As Manolova said, they achieved their goal to take downGERBand now each of the members had to go in their path - either to the left or to the right of the political spectrum.[27]

In 2022 Manolova announced that the civic platformStand Up.BGwould evolve into a political party -Stand up Bulgaria.The founding congress of the party was held on May 1, 2022 and was attended by 857 people.[28]According to the political declaration of the party, the main goal ofStand Up Bulgariais for Bulgarians to live in a fair, social state, without poverty and inequalities, with the rule of law and intransigence towards corruption, for Bulgaria to be a country with a high standard of living, an innovative economy, affordable quality education and health care for all and clean nature.[29]During this time, Manolova was one of the main critics of thePetkov Governmentbecause of the inflation and the energy crisis. Her main target for critics was the economic vice-prime minister and leader ofBSPKorneliya Ninova.According to Manolova, although Ninova claimed that no ammunition would be sent toUkraine,her signature as minister of economics was under every deal for weapon export.[30]After themotion of no confidencemade thegovernmentresign, earlyelectionsfollowed.Stand Up Bulgariaparticipated with the mothers of handicapped children fromThe System Kills Us.[31]During the elections campaign, Manolova's formation presented itself as the new pro-European left. Its main causes were peace due to thewar in Ukraine,increased social spendings by the government, decrease of energy prices and gasoline, and the rights of handicapped people.[32]The formation could not enter parliament.[33]

In the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 Manolova participated in left forums, organised by formerBSPmember Kostadin Paskalev, which aimed to form a wide left coalition that would serve as an alternative to BSP.[34]Following these events was formed the coalitionThe Left!which participated in the2023 parliamentary electionsin the country.[35]Despite expectations created by polls, the coalition could not enter parliament.[36]The coalition later participated in the2023 Bulgarian local electionsand was together withBSPraisedVanya Grigorovaas a candidate for mayor ofSofia.Grigorova reached the second round of the elections and lost by 1%.[37]During the summer of 2023 due to the rising tensions surrounding the proposed removal of the Monument of the Soviet Army in Sofia, Manolova and her supporters organised a camp in front of the monument as a sign of protest against the removal.[38]

Personal life[edit]

Manolova was married to Milen Manolov, a customs officer from her home town.[39]She had one daughter from this marriage. She divorced him in 2007.[40]She married Angel Naidenov, a politician from the Socialist Party, on 2 October 2016.[41]Manolova speaksEnglishandRussianin addition to her nativeBulgarian.[42]Manolova has a daughter and a grandson.[43]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Мая Манолова - Профили на Личности - Личности - Новини БГ".Novini.bg.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  2. ^abc"Биография".Мая Манолова(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-10-20.
  3. ^"Народно събрание на Република България - Новини".parliament.bg.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  4. ^"Bulgarian Socialist Party's Maya Manolova elected as national Ombudsman".The Sofia Globe.30 July 2015.Retrieved28 October2022.
  5. ^Дневник (2014-02-20)."Мая Манолова: Новият Изборен кодекс ще действа на следващите избори".Dnevnik(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  6. ^"Мая Манолова е избрана за омбудсман (допълнена и видео)".dnevnik.bg(in Bulgarian). 30 July 2015.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  7. ^"Мая Манолова напуска БСП | Политика".offnews.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-10-20.
  8. ^"Няма по-популярен от нея: защо Мая Манолова има такъв блестящ рейтинг? | DW | 26.02.2019".DW.COM(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-10-20.
  9. ^"Новият омбудсман: Мая Манолова ми остави една активна институция".frognews.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-10-20.
  10. ^"Мая Манолова подаде оставка като омбудсман, обяви 6 причини".Lex.bg News(in Bulgarian). 2019-09-03.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  11. ^"Официално: Мая Манолова влиза в битката за кметския стол на София".bTV Новините.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  12. ^"БСП подкрепи Манолова за кмет на София".nova.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-10-20.
  13. ^Capital.bg."София: този път има интрига".capital.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-12-19.
  14. ^Capital.bg."Ще загуби ли ГЕРБ София".capital.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-12-19.
  15. ^"Изборите, на които победи балотажът. Не само при Фандъкова и Манолова | DW | 27.10.2019".DW.COM(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-12-19.
  16. ^"Резултати:: Местни избори 27 октомври 2019".results.cik.bg.Retrieved2019-12-19.
  17. ^"Манолова за Фандъкова: Целият подземен свят е мобилизиран".Vesti.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-12-19.
  18. ^"Мая Манолова внесе жалба за касиране на изборите в София".bTV Новините.Retrieved2019-12-19.
  19. ^"Мая Манолова съди Борисов, иска 15 хил. лв. обезщетение".Vesti.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-12-19.
  20. ^"Манолова с нов проект, връща се на работа".Vesti.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-12-19.
  21. ^"Новият проект на Манолова - с национален обхват и в защита на граждански права".dnevnik.bg(in Bulgarian). 27 November 2019.Retrieved2019-12-19.
  22. ^"Манолова прави комисия по ревизията".Standart.15 April 2021.Retrieved11 May2021.
  23. ^""Дългата ръка на ДПС". Защо забуксуваха преговорите за кабинет ".Свободна Европа(in Bulgarian). 2021-07-30.Retrieved2023-12-07.
  24. ^"Манолова обяви как Трифонов я убеждавал да не се кандидатира за кмет на София. Срещу нещо".clubz.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  25. ^"Мая Манолова първа подкрепи Радев за втори мандат".manager.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  26. ^"Results of the November 2021 elections for President and Parliament".Central Electoral Commission.
  27. ^"ИБГНИ се разпада, Бабикян обяви нов проект с Хаджигенов - Избори - Новини Бг".Novini.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  28. ^Фичева, Ралица (2022-05-01)."С атака срещу управляващите Мая Манолова даде началото на своя партия".Dnevnik(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  29. ^"За нас".Изправи се.БГ(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  30. ^"Манолова: Нинова твърди, че нито един патрон не е изнесен за Украйна, а се оказва, че всеки четвърти патрон в Украйна е български".Фактор.Retrieved2023-12-07.
  31. ^""Изправи се, България" и "Системата ни убива" регистрираха общите си листи за предстоящите избори ".bnr.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  32. ^"Political Program of Stand Up Bulgaria (2022-2026)".
  33. ^"Results of the 2022 Parliamentary Elections".
  34. ^"Бивши и настоящи социалисти готвят голямо ляво обединение без БСП".Бивши и настоящи социалисти готвят голямо ляво обединение без БСП - Новини СЕГА(in Bulgarian). 2022-11-29.Retrieved2023-12-07.
  35. ^"Коалиция" ЛЕВИЦАТА! "ще участва в извънредните парламентарни избори".Vesti.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
  36. ^"2023 Bulgarian Parliamentary Elections Results".
  37. ^"2023 Bulgarian Local Elections Results".
  38. ^"Мая Манолова на палатка пред Паметника на Съветската армия".Mediapool.bg(in Bulgarian). 2023-08-09.Retrieved2023-12-07.
  39. ^"Бившият съпруг на Мая Манолова оглави ГКПП - Гюешево".Бившият съпруг на Мая Манолова оглави ГКПП - Гюешево.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  40. ^"Мая Манолова отговори на обвинения за имот в центъра на София".Dnes.dir.bg.Retrieved2019-10-20.
  41. ^"Мая Манолова и Ангел Найденов се ожениха".Vesti.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2019-10-20.
  42. ^"Профил на Мая Манолова"(in Bulgarian). National Assembly of Bulgaria official website.Retrieved2015-02-03.
  43. ^"Мая Манолова прекара уикенда с дъщеря си и внука си".Ladyzone.bg(in Bulgarian).Retrieved2023-12-07.
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