site.btaUPDATED GERB Demands Dismissal of Kalin Stoyanov as Caretaker Interior Minister

Addressing the public at a news conference held at GERB headquarters in Sofia on Tuesday, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said that his party insists on the dismissal of caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov.

Borissov said that he saw several unacceptable actions by Stoyanov on Monday. An interior minister with a raised fist in front of the presidency is not acceptable, he stressed.

"Prime minister designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva acted rashly, she should have nominated another name for interior minister," Borissov said.

The leader of GERB called on President Rumen Radev and caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev to find a way to dismiss Kalin Stoyanov, so that snap elections are organized as soon as possible and in an acceptable manner for all political forces.

Borissov pointed out that GERB would not participate in the elections of a national ombudsman and a deputy chair of the National Audit Office, in order for one of them to be chosen as caretaker prime minister-designate. (*After the Constitution was amended in December 2023, the President can choose the caretaker prime minister-designate from among several options: the Chair of the National Assembly, the Governor or a Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the President or a Vice President of the National Audit Office, and the Ombudsman or a Deputy Ombudsman. The offices of the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman's deputies are currently vacant.)

On Monday, Radev set a precedent in Bulgaria's contemporary history as he refused to decree a new caretaker cabinet proposed by prime minister-designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva because of Kalin Stoyanov's nomination for caretaker interior minister.

Later Monday, caretaker Prime Minister-designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva handed a complaint to the Prosecutor General about pressure that has been exerted on her as she was trying to put together a caretaker government.

Commenting on the situation, Stoyanov said that the President is interfering in the work of the executive power branch in an inadmissible manner by telling who should be in the next caretaker government.