Bulgarian Parliament sets up committee to investigate alleged corruption in issuing of driving licences
Bulgaria’s National Assembly has elected a temporary all-party committee to investigate allegations of abuses in obtaining driving licences.
The committee was set up following a hunger strike of more than a month by author and veteran protester Nikolai “Bossia” Kolev.
Kolev, a 67-year-old who was repeatedly arrested during Bulgaria’s communist era and who has been involved in numerous protests and hunger strikes post-communism, embarked on the hunger strike with a demand for the resignation of Transport Minister Ivailo Moskovski and the dissolution of Parliament.
On July 16, the Speaker of the National Assembly Tsveta Karayancheva and Interior Minister Valentin Radev met Kolev at his home to urge him to call off his hunger strike. The meeting resulted in an agreement to set up the temporary committee, which was elected on July 18 after MPs agreed to extend their working hours to do so.
Kolev said that he would not end his hunger strike until the first meeting of the committee, which is scheduled for July 19.
(Photo of a specimen of a Bulgarian driving licence: Interior Ministry)
