site.btaSofia Mayor, Interior Ministry Meet to Coordinate Security ahead of Protests on Monday

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev held Sunday a working meeting with the Sofia Directorate of the Interior Ministry in connection with ensuring public order and security ahead of the first sitting of the 51st National Assembly on November 11.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Sofia Police, the Security, Emergency Aid and Prevention, Traffic Management and Analysis departments of Sofia Municipality, and the Urban Mobility Centre.

Mayor Terziev requested clarity and a plan for coordination between the Police and the Municipality. "The security, life and health, of citizens are most important. We cannot allow the city to be held hostage by undemocratic and public order threatening events," he said.

The Sofia Mayor asked the Police to ensure public order and security for all citizens of the capital, to prevent the escalation of tension in the area of the buildings of the National Assembly 2, the Council of Ministers, and the President’s Administration, where seven protest rallies are scheduled to take place on Monday. According to Terziev, the two main goals are to ensure that MPs and officials can access the ceremony in the National Assembly building, and to protect the democratic right of citizens to protest.