site.btaTop Cop Georgi Kandev Quits Interior Ministry, Politicians React

Bulgaria's acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev announced in a Facebook post on Monday that he was leaving the Ministry, effective June 8.

"Choosing between my position and my principles is impossible. Promising action when I am required to remain silent is impossible as well. I took the message," Kandev wrote. "I cannot be the person who simply stares sternly into cameras. For 30 years I have worn the uniform with the conviction that the law is the backbone of the state and that a police officer's task is not to be convenient but to be useful."

"My task has always been to seek the truth, assume responsibility and make decisions when things are difficult. In the months before the elections, I proved that I could fulfil this task when I had freedom and support. All police officers proved it. I do not want to assume responsibility for decisions I do not make or for a facade that I do not wish to prop up by my name. There is no decree that can command the people's trust," the Chief Commissioner added.

Kandev was appointed acting Interior Ministry Deputy Secretary General on February 24, 2026 under the Andrey Gurov caretaker Cabinet. He took over as acting Secretary General on February 25, after Miroslav Rashkov was dismissed by presidential decree. Kandev owes his popularity to a high-profile crackdown on election irregularities during the campaign for the April 19 early parliamentary elections. 

On April 24, he shared a video message on Facebook saying that he had been pressured to step down by people sent to make false testimony against him at the Sofia City Prosecution Office. "Yesterday, I received the message: 'Fall back!' Those who have long relied on silence and obedience are trying the same approach again - with the same words and the same arrogance. Pressure that relies on fear and habit. Not this time!" he said then.  

After Progressive Bulgaria formed a Parliament-elected government, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that Kandev "has demonstrated his capabilities throughout the entire election campaign and in the fight against vote-buying" and will keep his job under the new Ministry leadership.

Reaction Round-up

Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev: Kandev's decision came as a surprise. Not only did no one obstruct him, but at no point did he receive anything other than support in his work. I have neither any doubts about Kandev nor any intention of seeking his resignation. He cited reasons that are entirely personal in nature. Men should speak openly and face to face, and if there was something he needed to say, he should have said it to me directly rather than having us read posts. I wish him success, including in his future political career, but it is not particularly commendable to walk away and leave your people behind when you are in the eye of the storm. The Interior Ministry's political leadership is not yet ready with a nominee for the permanent position of Secretary General.

Ivaylo Mirchev MP of opposition Democratic Bulgaria: Kandev's decision is a very clear and serious indication of the way the country is being governed. Clearly, he did not have real freedom to act. And clearly, he was not kept in office  because of the will of the current leadership but rather under pressure from public opinion, which saw in his actions an attempt at professionalism and resistance to old dependencies. Public relations is one thing; real actions are another. That is the major problem with this government – it speaks about order, control and statehood, but when it is time to act, we see retreat. The Kandev case is not merely a personnel matter. It is a warning that the Interior Ministry is once again coming under political and behind-the-scenes control, and the consequences of this will be serious – for citizens' security, the fight against crime, and trust in the state.

Vazrazhdane Deputy Floor Leader Peter Petrov: My parliamentary group will move for a hearing of both Kandev and Demerdzhiev on Wednesday. We believe that Kandev knows more than he said [in his Facebook post]. (...) I have no doubt that Progressive Bulgaria will vote against our motion, given that they changed Parliament's rules of procedure regarding motions for hearings. Kandev stated that he did not wish to be 'convenient', and we know to whom he was inconvenient - to [Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delyan] Peevski under the caretaker cabinet and to those involved in vote-buying during the election campaign. It turns out that he is apparently inconvenient to the present government as well, and we in Vazrazhdane wonder if this is the result of good collaboration between the old and the new power holders. The resignation of the Interior Ministry's highest-ranking professional always indicates that some form of responsibility is being assumed. Public security and the fight against crime require an Interior Ministry secretary general who remains in office rather than writing that he does not wish to carry out orders. It is extremely worrying that, after so many pledges to combat crime and amid troubling criminal cases, the Secretary General has resigned publicly, raising numerous questions related to the exertion of influence, violations of principles and the convenience of a political actor. Bulgarian society wants action against crime, road fatalities and financial fraud, all of which affect people every day.

GERB (in a Facebook post): Georgi Kandev's resignation as acting Interior Ministry Secretary General raises many questions. Kandev's departure is cause for serious concern, coming as it does just one month after the new Government took office. What decisions made by others was the Interior Ministry's Secretary General expected to implement and be held responsible for? Was there political interference in the work of the Ministry’s highest-ranking professional official, given that the law strictly prohibits such interference? And if there was, where did it come from?