site.btaFormer Continue the Change Leader Kiril Petkov Leaves Parliament

Kiril Petkov filed his resignation with Parliament’s registry to end his term as Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP, said Parliament’s press office for BTA on Monday.

 "Today, I hereby hand my resignation as a member of Bulgarian Parliament. I am doing it calmly, with the idea that I am doing something right,” Petkov wrote on his Facebook page.

He announced that he would come down as party co-leader and member of Parliament amid a corruption allegations scandal that rocked his party. A meeting of the party leadership on Sunday decided that Assen Vassilev would remain the sole leader until late September.

"I am proud that with my resignation, I am setting a new standard in Bulgarian politics: political leaders have to be responsible for the actions of their chosen personnel. From now on, it will not be enough, like it was with GERB, to pretend you don’t know the wrongdoer, just because you were personally not involved in the scandal. After my resignation, this will have to become unacceptable for voters – they have to demand political responsibility from the leaders of their chosen party, said the Facebook post.

Petkov said that he is proud that no one will be able to say that all parties are the same anymore. "For Continue the Change (CC), being anti-corruption is part of the party’s DNA. Traitors and corrupt individuals can infiltrate any party. The question is how the party reacts when such people are uncovered. Our reaction was immediate and substantial. We demonstrated that we take the highest level of responsibility," said Kiril Petkov.

He noted that CC and GERB are very different. "With former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, even when the United States sanctioned GERB finance minister at the time Vladislav Goranov for corruption under the Magnitsky Act, Borissov turned a blind eye. As for MRF - New Beginning, I want to remind that their leader Delyan Peevski himself is under Magnitsky sanctions," said Petkov’s Facebook post.

He expressed hope that the independent members of GERB will demand a leader like Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to stop the Borissov-Peevski connections which hinder the European direction of GERB’s development.

He went on to praise now sole CC Chair Assen Vassilev's skills and integrity. "I have known Assen Vassilev for years. I believe in his leadership, and I know that he is a uniquely smart person with a vision. I know that in addition to tackling corruption, he will develop a successful economic policy, based on equality, focusing on education and healthcare," said Petkov’s social media publication.

Petkov explicitly stated that he will not run for leadership positions at the CC General Meeting in September.

He vowed to continue working for CC. "I am leaving the party’s executive body, but the party will not leave my heart.”

He will remain a CC party member, and his next task will be "to tour different Bulgarian regions and to talk to people not as their leader, but as one of them.”