site.btaMayors of Sofia's Lyulin, Mladost Boroughs, Municipal Councilors Say They "Refused to Be Part of Schemes, Backroom Deals"

The mayors of Sofia's Lyulin and Mladost boroughs, Georgi Todorov and Ivaylo Kukurin, along with municipal councilors Dragomir Ivanov and Dimitar Shalafov, who Monday left the Continue the Change (CC) party, said “they refused to be part of schemes, backroom deals, and the covering up of the truth”. They were speaking at a briefing in Sofia Municipal Council on Thursday.  

Todorov said they had been subjected to public smear campaigns, insinuations, and pressure in recent days for refusing to stay silent. According to him, the resignation and  arrest of Sofia Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov, along with the resignation of CC Co-Chair Kiril Petkov, cannot be dismissed as internal political turbulence, but are indicative of a moral collapse resulting from the long-term concealment of minor wrongdoings.

He claimed that over the past few months, pressure had been exerted on them to favor private over public interests and to remain silent, abandoning their principles.

Kukurin stated that public trust is not built through propaganda or empty words, but through actions and hard work. He said he would continue to speak out despite attempts to label him. "I haven’t gone anywhere, I stayed true to my principles and to myself," Kukurin said, adding that he would not take the blame for something he did not do.

Ivanov remarked that being “less bad” does not equate to being good. He emphasized their responsibility to the democratic community to speak the truth in order to earn trust, rather than remain silent.

Shalafov questioned whether the deputy mayors of Lyulin and Mladost, as well as he and Ivanov, were considered traitors or a mistake by the party leadership for choosing to speak out. He also asked whether Petkov’s resignation absolves the CC Executive Council of responsibility, and called on the entire leadership to step down. "You cannot be the executive body of a party and claim you didn’t know or bear no responsibility for what happened," Shalafov said.

On Wednesday, the Sofia City Prosecution Service charged Deputy Mayor of Sofia Municipality N.B., along with P.R. and S.K., with being part of a group that operated in Sofia between early February and June 24, committing coordinated crimes involving abuse of office and bribery. The group was formed for financial gain and included a public official among its members.