Continue the Change Elects New Executive Council; Vassilev Named Chair

Kaloyan Kirilov

Continue the Change Chair Assen Vassilev (in the middle) and the party Executive Council members, at the General Assembly of CC, Sofia, September 28, 2025 (BTA Photo/Minko Chernev)

Sofia,

28.09.2025 20:56

(BTA)

Continue the Change (CC) held a two-day General Assembly on Saturday and Sunday to elect governing bodies, adopt a political platform and amend its statute.

Greetings to delegates were scheduled from European liberal leaders and domestic coalition partners. The meeting concluded with a renewed Executive Council and the unanimous election of Assen Vassilev as party chair.

Vassilev presented an almost entirely renewed Executive Council, with three returning members and ten new additions. The Council includes former prime minister Nikolay Denkov, detained Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, and Blagoevgrad Mayor Metodi Baykushev; the other members are Vasil Pandov, Mihal Kambarev, Stoyu Stoev, Ivaylo Shotev, Bogdan Bogdanov, Venko Sabrutev, Vyara Todeva, Toni Stoycheva, and Tatyana Sultanova-Siveva.

Vassilev said there was no other candidate for the chair’s position and outlined statute changes establishing a deputy chair elected by the Executive Council and approved by the National Council on the chair’s proposal, as well as an independent Ethics Commission empowered to investigate reports and take action.

A seat was left vacant for Kotsev with a sign reading “Blagomir Kotsev was supposed to sit here.” Vassilev added: “We have a National Council decision to support [in the plenary] a no-confidence motion related to water shortages,” noting the new National Council would decide whether to provide signatures for submitting it.

He also argued: “The prosecution has found nothing and is holding Blago Kotsev and the other political prisoners without any reason… Funds from Europe are being halted because the Bulgarian government allows itself to hold political prisoners.”

Coalition partners used the forum to frame the wider political context.

Democrats for Strong Bulgaria leader Atanas Atanassov told delegates: “We must be patient in order to jointly expand our support, because this coalition is the only alternative to today’s political status quo,” urging the restoration of the Coalition Council. “Otherwise, those observing us will always look for cracks to drive wedges.”

Yes, Bulgaria Co-chair Bozhidar Bozhanov said: “The community of free people that we represent together is the alternative for Bulgaria’s development,” calling it “the alternative to backroom governance with mafia-style approaches.”

Former CC co-chair Kiril Petkov voiced support for Vassilev’s leadership. He has “boundless trust” that Vassilev would lead the party in the right direction, and nominated Kotsev for the Executive Council, saying the detained mayor “stood by all of us and said that they would not break us,” adding: “The number one priority today, tomorrow, and the day after, is for Blago, Niki, Yordan, and Nikola to be free.” Petkov framed the party’s task in long-term terms: “It is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Setting out priorities, Vassilev said the platform focuses on five areas: competitive business; young families and incomes; education and healthcare; and justice and freedom. He linked this agenda to Bulgaria’s European trajectory, projecting work “when Bulgaria is already in Schengen and in the euro area from January 1, 2026,” and maintained Bulgaria would not settle for last place.

/КТ/