site.btaVazrazhdane Leader Questions Whether Anti-Corruption Actions Will Be Taken Against MRF and GERB Mayors

Commenting on the detention of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, Vazrazhdane Floor Leader Kostadin Kostadinov said that the big question is whether similar actions will be taken against mayors from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and GERB, because otherwise "it creates the impression of politically motivated operations". Kostadinov was speaking to journalists in Parliament on Wednesday. 

On Tuesday, a police detention order was issued for Blagomir Kotsev, mayor of Varna, and he was detained around 11:30 p.m., his lawyer Milen Ralchev told reporters. The detention is connected to a case handled by the Counter-Corruption Commission and the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office. According to Ralchev, Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev is currently being held in one of the city’s police stations.

“We have seven members in the Varna Municipal Council who have repeatedly witnessed, to put it mildly, questionable decisions,” Kostadinov said. He added that they have alerted the public and certain institutions.

In response to questions about allegations from Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria that MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski interfered in the Kotsev case, Kostadinov said that there is such a perception, but “these are said by people who until last year governed together with Peevski”. In his words, it is hypocritical for those who amended the Constitution with Peevski to now claim that he is attacking them. 

Kostadinov stressed that Vazrazhdane will vote for the government’s resignation during the fourth no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s cabinet, scheduled for Wednesday. The motion over failures in the environment and water sector was tabled by the parliamentary group of Velichie, supported by MPs from Vazrazhdane and Moral, Unity, Honour.

“We consider the topic strange and have expressed our reservations because it falls within the competence of local authorities. However, since they (Velichie) supported our no-confidence vote on fiscal policy, it was politically correct for us to support their motion as well,” Kostadinov said.