MoI Chief Secretary steps down
Zhivko Kotsev, Chief Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) has submitted his resignation. He gave no reason for his decision but outgoing Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov cited political pressure from Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov. In his position of Chief Secretary at the MoI, Kotsev was to lead the operational headquarters for the forthcoming early elections.
Kotsev has been with the MoI since 1992. His departure is seen as a significant shift, given his previous key role as Director of the National Police General Directorate before becoming Deputy Chief Secretary at the MoI in January 2022.
Cabinet line-up to be finalized by day's end
President Rumen Radev announced during a meeting with the Central Election Commission (CEC) leadership that PM-designate Dimitar Glavchev will finalize the composition of the cabinet by the end of the day on Thursday. Last week, Radev nominated the Chairman of the National Audit Office for the role of caretaker prime minister.
After the latest amendments to the Constitution, the head of state has the authority to choose a caretaker prime minister from a list of ten senior public officials. The powers of the caretaker government can be limited by law, it will be in charge of organizing the forthcoming early parliamentary elections.
"I have already called on Mr. Glavchev to form a cabinet within a week, so that we have the option for a 2-in-1 election," Radev commented, referring to the upcoming elections for Bulgarian members of the European Parliament. The president highlighted his motives: "Firstly, this could lead to higher voter turnout, which we see decreasing with each election. Secondly, to avoid taking people to the polls twice within a very short period of time. And thirdly, to save resources."
Earlier today, the head of the Central Election Commission, Kameliya Neykova, commented that the commission can manage simultaneous elections for members of the National Assembly and the European Parliament to be held on the same date (likely on June 9th).
Outgoing PM urges transparency in DANS investigation targeting Customs Office
Outgoing prime minister Nikolay Denkov has called upon the State Agency for National Security, DANS to provide detailed information regarding its operation at the Customs Office. The request came following DANS' refusal to share information regarding its operation yesterday in the Customs Agency, in which documents were seized and officials were detained.
This morning, the prosecutor's office announced that pre-trial proceedings were launched against a suspected organized crime group active in smuggling, money laundering, and bribery, with some individuals detained. The prosecutor's office provided no further details about the operation..
The director of the Customs Agency, Petya Bankova, has been charged with participation in an organized crime group, along with three other individuals she does not know, said Bankova's lawyer Adelina Natina.
Denkov declared that he does not know Bankova personally, but as far as he is aware, she has an impeccable reputation. He mentioned that there are many rumors that DANS is covering up drug trafficking schemes, which needs to be investigated by therelevant authorities.
MoI Chief Secretary steps down
Zhivko Kotsev, Chief Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) has submitted his resignation. He gave no reason for his decision but outgoing Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov cited political pressure from Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov. In his position of Chief Secretary at the MoI, Kotsev was to lead the operational headquarters for the forthcoming early elections.
