site.btaYes Bulgaria Movement Party Founded, Led by Ex-justice Minister

Yes Bulgaria Movement Party Founded, Led by  Ex-justice Minister

Sofia, January 7 (BTA) - A new party, the Yes Bulgaria Movement, was founded here on Saturday with Hristo Ivanov as its Chairman. Nearly 1,500 people gathered for the founding event to adopt the party's statutes and elect the leader.

Addressing the meeting, Ivanov said the number one cause of the new party would be to fight corruption and win the State back from the Mafia. "We believe this is key to achieving all other objectives and intentions," he said.

Ivanov was justice minister of Boyko Borissov's cabinet until December 2015 when he resigned after Parliament refused to support constitutional changes he saw as central to a judicial reform package proposed by his team.

Ivanov said the party was backed by 4,500 registered members and more than 500 donors. It is planning to participate in the early parliamentary elections in 2017.

"We also want to ensure there is a rule of law and effective and accessible justice, to step up tangibly the pace of the country's development, to fight systemic poverty and improve living standards," said Ivanov.

He also stated: "The State has been usurped by a model of corruption in which power is held by few, while real decisions are made through backstage bargaining. The new party will tackle this problem. We are here because we believe that dreams are the real engine of politics, and we want to put the Bulgarian Dream at the heart of political life."  

"Founding the Yes Bulgaria Movement, we must sign a pact of integrity. Everyone who becomes a member has to declare that he or she was not affiliated to the [communist-era] State Security. Under the statutes, people involved in corruption will be denied membership or will be expelled if they are members," said the party's Chairman.

The new party will draw up a list of all major shady deals and will ask Parliament to look into them. The party will seek to introduce the concept of character in Bulgarian politics, "the yes-man's time is up", said Ivanov.