GERB Leader Borissov Says Party’s Trust in Anti-Corruption Commission is Exhausted

GERB leader Boyko Borissov said in a post on Facebook on December 23 that the party’s trust in the Commission for Countering Corruption is entirely exhausted, adding that he believes the body should not exist.

Borissov also called on GERB representatives in the Varna Municipal Election Commission to refrain from participating in any meetings concerning the termination of Mayor Blagomir Kotsev’s term in office, stating that the party does not need a victory handed to it by administrative means, Borissov said.

“We do not want our name to be involved in any political manoeuvres aimed at changing the majoritarian choice of the people,” he said.

Yesterday, Borissov reiterated his appeal to GERB’s representatives on the Varna Municipal Election Commission to abstain from any attempts to end Mayor Kotsev’s term of office.

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The Mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, was detained on July 8 after a police raid on the city’s municipality and his private home.

He remained in remand for about five months - until his release by a Varna court at the end of November. During his time in remand, he had to take paid and unpaid leave to justify his absence, and appointed a deputy to sit in for him. Following alerts from voters, the Varna Municipal Election Commission took up the case of his absence.

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Kotsev took office in 2023 as a reformist candidate for the "We Continue the Change" party on the promise of improving the prospects for Varna, Bulgaria’s third biggest city and the biggest on the Black Sea coast.