World IN BRIEF : BULGARIA : Ex-Communist Fails in Bid for Presidency

Reformist Zhelyu Zhelev won Bulgaria’s first presidential election, ending Communist hopes of keeping a slice of power. According to unofficial results, Zhelev received 54% of the vote, edging out his Socialist-backed rival, Velko Valkanov, with 46%. Zhelev’s victory consolidates power in the hands of the Union of Democratic Forces, which now controls the presidency as well as the government it formed after winning a general election last October. Valkanov was backed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, as the former Communists are now called.