site.btaGERB Has Lost All Trust in Anti-Corruption Commission, Party Leader Boyko Borissov Says

GERB leader Boyko Borissov said on Facebook on Tuesday his party has lost all trust in the Anti-Corruption Commission and he believes that it should not exist.

The Continue the Change party said on December 18 that the Anti-Corruption Commission had requested data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) on the recent leave periods of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev. "This is despite the fact that leave periods are entirely beyond the remit of the Anti-Corruption Commission. It has no authority to make decisions on leave or to instruct CEC or the Municipal Election Commission," Continue the Change said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Borissov insisted once again that the GERB representatives in the Varna Municipal Election Commission should not take part in any meetings related to the termination of Blagomir Kotsev's mandate. The party does not need a victory handed to it by administrative means, Borissov said. "We do not want our name to be involved in any kind of political schemes aimed at changing the people's majoritarian choice," he added.

On Monday, Borissov urged the party's representatives on the Varna Municipal Election Commission not to take part in any potential attempts to terminate Kotsev's mandate.

Kotsev was arrested on July 8 in a corruption probe and remained in remand for about five months - until his release by a Varna court on November 27. During his time in remand, he had to take paid and unpaid leave to justify his absence, and appointed a deputy to sit in for him. The Varna Municipal Election Commission took up the case of his absence after receiving alerts from voters. 

Kotsev has denied any wrongdoing. His Continue the Change party insist that his arrest is part of a campaign by the Establishment targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in his support were staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities. The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament where Continue the Change is affiliated, described Kotsev's extended detention as "an onslaught on democratic institutions and rule of law in Bulgaria".