MECh Leader Radostin Vassilev to President Iliana Iotova: You Should Have Resigned with Rumen Radev

President Iliana Iotova met representatives of the Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) party after earlier consultations as part of the procedure for appointing a caretaekr PM had been held with Alliance for Rights and Feedoms on February 10.

At the start of the meeting, President Iotova thanked the party for attending the consultations on the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.

“For me, these nominations are by no means a formality. The most important task is to hold transparent and fair elections, in line with the will of hundreds of thousands of citizens. At the same time, until then our state cannot stop functioning. I hope that the caretaker cabinet will address the most urgent problems facing the country,” she said.

The President also expressed hope that all institutions would act with reason so as to ensure stability, adding that new challenges were emerging daily.

“Price controls are a complete failure, and people are feeling it in their pockets,” she said.

MECh leader Radostin Vasilev responded that he would be entirely frank.

“We are surrounded by hypocrisy — political, within the state — and by a total breakdown of institutions, which leads to serious criminal distortions. Given my sincerity, I approach this meeting with considerable scepticism. I have great respect for the presidential institution, but I believe I must clearly express my concerns, including those related to you as President and to what is happening,” Vasilev said.

He added that, in his view, after Rumen Radev had resigned, Iliana Iotova should also step down. According to him, the public perception was that “he used the presidency to create a party, while Iliana Iotova is using the presidential office for a future campaign”.

“These facts lead to skepticism in me, as I do not believe you are capable of leading a genuinely fair and impartial campaign.”

Representatives of MECh stated that they would no longer take part in consultations, which they described as pointless, and left the meeting.

photos by Dessislava Kulelieva, BNT

Iliyana Iotova responded to the criticism that apparently the MECh had come to "say their words from the election campaign":

“At no point have I disowned my biography. It is visible and transparent to all Bulgarian citizens,” she said.