Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, January 30, 1997. Petar Stoyanov of the UDF won new presidential elections in the fall and will succeed Zhelev in January 1997. The judiciary is independent but continued to struggle with structural and staffing problems. A number of persons known to be involved in repressive activities during the Communist regime returned to senior-level positions in the security services in 1995 and retained these positions in 1996. Some members of the police force committed serious human rights abuses.
Principal exports are agricultural products, cigarettes and tobacco, chemicals, and metal products.
The transformation of the economy into a market-oriented system has been retarded by continued political and social resistance. Slow progress in privatization of the large Communist-era state enterprises has been a major reason for economic stagnation. The Government is now implementing a mass privatization program which, if successful, would partially address this problem. The service and consumer goods sectors in private hands continued to be the most vibrant. After a period of superficial economic stability and revived growth in 1995, a crisis in the financial system occurred in early 1996, accompanied by a sharp devaluation of the country's currency, high inflation, and a serious grain shortage.