Bulgaria’s caretaker Interior Minister replaces most regional directorate heads in run-up to parliamentary elections
Twenty-three out of 28 heads of regional directorates of the Interior Ministry have been replaced in a move linked to Bulgaria’s April 19 early parliamentary elections.
This was confirmed by caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev in an interview with Nova Televizia on March 1.
Asked why he was carrying out the large-scale replacements, Dechev said that in order to hold fair, democratic and lawful elections, there must be trust in the directors of the regional directorates.
“I will emphasise strongly that the new ones should not be considered unshakable. If we see violations of the law, there will be nothing to stop us from replacing these new ones, too,” he said.
On the recommendation of the caretaker government, President Iliana Yotova earlier decreed the dismissal of the chief secretary of the Interior Ministry, another move linked to the elections.
Dechev said that attacks against him from the day that he took office.
“I had to hold talks with the chief secretary and deputy chief secretary to explain to them why we had to part ways. Thirty minutes later, it leaked on social networks that I was going to fire the investigators in the Petrohan case, which is not true.”
He said that there is abundant statistics showing that in the same polling stations 90 per cent voted for one party, and in the next elections 90 per cent voted for its fierce political opponent.
The Ministry of the Interior has an extremely important role in the electoral process, but regional governors also bear responsibility, as do political parties that can incite, inspire and incite lawlessness, he said.
Other steps taken by the caretaker government, whose chief task is to ensure the integrity of the elections, have included the replacement of all 28 district governors. However, caretaker Justice Minister Andrei Yankulov’s proposal to elect a new acting Prosecutor-General, a move which would thus oust Borislav Sarafov, has thus far been thwarted.
