site.btaUPDATED President Radev Responds to GERB Leader: Amnesia, Cynicism Taking over Highest Echelons of Bulgarian Politics

President Rumen Radev responded Saturday to comments made by GERB leader Boyko Borissov a day earlier that there's a conspiracy against his party and the head of State is responsible for Constitutional Court's decision to outlaw the election of 16 MPs, including three members of GERB-UDF, and to let the Velichie [Grandeur] party in Parliament with 10 MPs. Speaking to journalists in Pazarzhik (South Bulgaria), Radev said that "the most worrying thing in this case is that amnesia and cynicism are increasingly taking over the top of Bulgarian politics."

"They are the very ones who have tainted the elections, their parties nominated the members of the election commissions who rewrote protocols, hid ballots, bought votes, pressured businesses and seduced mayors with public money to vote for them," he added.

"When they talk about conspiracy and coup, they should not forget that they constructed the "assemblage" that changed the Constitution," Radev said. "In a way that led to a caretaker government, completely controlled by them," he added. "From there it led to some of the worst elections in history. And now they are blaming the Constitutional Court, which passed its decision unanimously, including their quota. The people they sent to that court also voted," the President underlined.

"If someone is looking for a conspiracy, or if there is a conspiracy at all, the government-forming mandate holder - you know who that is - can find it in his own unwillingness to take responsibility," Radev stressed. "But we all see that the goal of all this is to disgust Bulgarians from the electoral process so that the percentage of the bought and forced vote that feeds their power can grow," the President added. According to him, if the Bulgarian prosecution service wants to live up to public expectations, it is right to tackle these "proven outrages".  

Asked whether he wanted the Government to fall, Radev recalled how much time he had given for it to be formed and for there not to be new snap elections. "If someone fails or does not want this government to work, the problem is not in me," he insisted.

"For them the Constitutional Court is a mechanical collection of people who have to do the bidding of those who sent them there, not judges who have to uphold the Constitution. I can see that they are very disturbed by the fact that they have not been able to completely overthrow the rule of law and there are still institutions that monitor it and do their job impartially," the head of State pointed out.

Radev said the most important thing is to establish beyond doubt that there are abuses, manipulations and "blatant outrages" in the electoral process. Thus, the President answered whether the CC decision overlapped with his expectations. Adding that this has been shown and revealed by the CC as well. "So we have to draw a very serious conclusion about what comes next," the head of State added.

Rumen Radev is in Pazardzhik for the "Sport with the President" initiative and a meeting with local authorities.