site.btaUPDATED President Radev Will Not Fire National Security Agency Head

President Rumen Radev commented on Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov's demanded resignation of State Agency for National Security (SANS) Chair Plamen Tonchev here on Monday. Radev was adamant that the resignation was sought due to Tonchev's complying with the law rather than breaking it.

Radev, who participated in a roundtable on the application of affordable technologies and products with a large asymmetric effect in modern conflicts, said that Denkov's lack of confidence in Tonchev cannot be a reason for Tonchev's dismissal. The President added: "According to the Prime Minister's logic, the government itself should immediately resign, because the vast majority of Bulgarians distrust it".

The President said that he will see the arguments presented for the requested dismissal of the SANS Chair. He said: "The real motives have been known for a long time. We heard them in that recording [of a meeting of the National Council of Continue the Change held online on the evening of May 21, distributed by MP Radostin Vasilev]. They [Continue the Change] aim at controlling the services". The head of State criticized the government for trying to stay above the law.

According to Radev, the local election should not be used as an excuse to attack SANS, unless the scenario described in the recording happens. He said that Denkov and the government should focus their attention first and foremost on the actions of their own Deputy Minister of e-Government, Mihail Stoynov, who Radev suggested was to blame for the start of "the sabotage of the electoral process".

Asked whether Radev thought Tonchev was politically biased, as suggested by the Prime Minister, Radev said that Tonchev was under fire only after stating facts during a hearing in Parliament.

The President described as "disturbing" parts of the Prime Minister's statement, such as Denkov's request to have SANS inform him in advance about upcoming protests, as this suggests that Denkov misunderstands the Agency's role and functions. "We cannot expect this to be an Agency to fight and suppress just, legitimate social demands and protests," Radev said. He also criticized the Prime Minister for saying that SANS was expected to discuss the report of Stoynov's documented violation. The President then asked: "Does this mean that the Prime Minister wants to soften this report to a position that is favourable to the government?".

Radev was adamant that SANS must provide objective information, regardless of whether someone likes it or not. He said: "When SANS provides information about Russian spies, whether one, three or 70 altogether, it is accepted as absolutely reliable. But when SANS provides information that is not in the government's interest, real hysteria ensues".

Reacting to Radev's words that Tonchev's dismissal was sought because he complied with the law rather than because he broke it, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov told journalists on Monday evening that all heads of services have been appointed single-handedly by the President through his caretaker cabinets.

"On not a single occasion so far I have asked for the replacement of any head of the services because there was no reason to do that. Now there is a reason. The first round of voting [in the local elections] was held without voting machines, this resulted in an erosion of trust in the election process. Because of the lack of machines, there is a huge number of invalid ballots. This is due mainly to the actions of one deputy chairperson of SANS," Denkov commented. He was referring to SANS Deputy Chair Denyo Denev, who signed a brief on the basis of which the Central Election Commission removed machine voting from the first round of the October 29 local elections.

"An attempt is being made to shift the entire responsibility for the elimination of the machines to the Deputy Minister of Electronic Governance [Mihail Stoynov]. If you look at the brief produced by SANS, it says that the deputy minister in question created prerequisites for posing risks of greater distrust of the machines. What did the SANS Deputy Chair do? He used that prerequisite to launch an information campaign for the dropping of the machines from the first round," the PM said further.

In his opinion, the SANS brief that led to the elimination of machine voting from the local elections first round contains "manipulative allegations".

Denkov emphasized that the law must prosecute all election irregularities if there is reason to believe that such were committed and they are substantiated.