By Euronews with EBU
Published on
Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov resigned as an MP and party co-chair of “We Continue the Change” on Wednesday, a decision that was made after a corruption probe began against party mayors in Sofia.
Petkov however says he will stay in the party.
“I am personally taking political responsibility and resigning as co-chair of ‘We Continue the Change’. I am also resigning as an MP from ‘We Continue the Change’,” Petkov said during a press conference.
Petkov’s reaction comes after a recording was sent to the media earlier on Wednesday, featuring a conversation between the Deputy Mayor of Sofia, Nikola Barbutov, and the Mayor of the Lyulin district, Georgi Todorov.
“When we founded the party, we spoke about zero tolerance for corruption. We’ve upheld that principle the entire time. Neither I nor anyone on the Executive Council of WCC knew about this. Being clean from corruption does not mean you are a good leader. If this tip-off and recording are real, then this is truly a serious mistake,” Petkov said.
“It’s a mistake that a district mayor would allow themselves to have such a conversation. Anti-corruption is at the heart of our party – it is our creed. This is a major failure by both district mayors. The fact that they didn’t pick up the phone and inform us is a huge failure.”
Three people have been arrested in the case, including the Deputy Mayor of Sofia and two people who are managers of companies whose offices were searched yesterday, according to unofficial information.
The two companies reportedly received public contracts awarded by district administrations in the Sofia Municipality.
Investigators are currently reviewing evidence to decide what charges to bring and against which of the detained individuals. The case is still in the pre-trial stage and involves corruption allegations. It is claimed that district mayors in the capital were pressured by senior party members to rig public tenders, allowing money to be funnelled back to the party through donations.
According to a Facebook post by the Mayor of the capital, Vassil Terziev, the Deputy Mayor of Sofia, Nikola Barbutov, has been let go from his position.
Petkov announced that there will be a General Assembly of the party by the end of the year, and until then, Asen Vassilev will remain party leader.
Petkov firmly stated that there will be no split with Democratic Bulgaria.
