site.btaPrime Minister Says Georgi Kandev Cited Only Personal Reasons for Resigning as Interior Ministry Acting Secretary General

Former acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev cited only personal reasons for his resignation, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Friday, adding that no professional motives were presented.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament, Radev said he had met Kandev after learning of his request to be released from the Interior Ministry. He said Kandev expressed satisfaction with his work and relations with Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev. 

Radev said Kandev’s subsequent public statement announcing his departure came as a surprise. 

The Prime Minister said the Government was considering all possible candidates to replace Kandev and noted that he had learned of Kandev's official Facebook post, announcing his resignation, only after their meeting. 

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."

Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said that Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov, Sofia's chief of police, will replace Kandev as Secretary General of the Interior Ministry. 

Radev also commented on judicial reform, saying efforts were under way to adopt the Judicial System Act as soon as possible. He said Parliament should then consider rules for electing new members of the Supreme Judicial Council, adding that the aim was to enable the Council to elect a new Prosecutor General.