site.btaUPDATED Save Sofia Exits CC-DB Coalition, Withdraws Support for Mayor Terziev

The Save Sofia political formation is leaving the three-party coalition with Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) in the Sofia City Council and has withdrawn its support from Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, Save Sofia Chair Boris Bonev said at a news conference on Tuesday.

"I have been called upon by the executive council of Save Sofia to announce three important decisions made by our party," Bonev added, saying that these decisions were not easy but are necessary given the current situation.

Earlier in April, Bonev, leader of the CC-DB-Save Sofia group in the Sofia City Council, announced that Save Sofia structures would soon decide whether to leave the coalition. He reminded that as early as November 2024, Save Sofia set five criteria to assess whether they would remain in the coalition, in what form, and whether they would continue supporting Sofia Mayor Terziev. Among these were the adoption of the 2025 Budget of Sofia, the appointment of a new chief architect of Sofia, the signing of new contracts for waste management, maintenance of the street network and landscaping in the capital, as well as reforming the structure of Sofia Municipality and a full audit of the GERB-led city government. Save Sofia also came up with a statement claiming that the competition for the election of a Chief Architect of Sofia Municipality was rigged. Architect Bogdana Panayotova was appointed by the mayor, but instead of being a convincing professional choice, the procedure left behind doubts and compromised trust, according to Save Sofia. The political formation’s representatives called for a new, transparent procedure with changes in the conditions and evaluation committee.

"I want to highlight the five indicators by which we judge how our relationship with the administration will continue," Bonev said, explaining that the first is a revision of the former GERB’s governance. According to him, Vassil Terziev is a figurehead implementing projects left over from GERB. The second important indicator, according to Save Sofia, is related to Sofia’s waste collection contracts. Bonev pointed out that these contracts have expired, but there is still no information about new ones. The third indicator is the new structure of the Sofia Municipality. Bonev noted that a year and a half after the local elections, Sofia still has no new structure, which, according to him, means that Vassil Terziev is quite fond of the one established by former GERB major Yordanka Fandakova. The fifth indicator is the 2025 Sofia municipal budget. Bonev believes it is a repetition of the GERB-designed budget and lacks priorities that are important for Save Sofia.

"The final straw for us was the competition for Sofia’s Chief Architect," Bonev said, acknowledging that the competition was transparent, but only because, from its very beginning, everyone knew that Bogdana Panayotova would win.