Ex-Journalist Barekov: 'One More MP to Leave GERB'

The journalist-turned-politician Nikolay Barekov, who leads the Bulgaria without Censorship party, announced "one more lawmaker" was to quit center-right GERB on Tuesday.

At a pre-election event in the south-eastern village of Chelopechene, Barekov did not specify which MP was to leave the ranks of GERB. His words were later repeated in his party's press release to the media.

A couple of lawmakers have splintered off their party's parliamentary group and then joined Bulgaria without Censorship over the past months.

Svetlin Tanchev from the opposition GERB party, who firstly announced he wished to become an independent MP, later declared he had become part of Barekov's team. Ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)'s Rumen Yonchev took the same step in favour of Bulgaria without Censorship.

Municipal councilors and head of local GERB structures later made similar moves. During his campaigning event, Barekov commented on GERB's move to distribute kozunaks (a sweet bread typical in Bulgaria and Romania) among the city of Plovdiv's poor by saying that formerly ruling GERB had led people to starvation.

He also suggested opposition representatives had been rummaging about the Municipality's database and this would explain why they distributed kozunaks only among those in need. Barekov described their actions as "cynical", amid a scandal involving personal data misuse by political parties who randomly added some people's names to their EU elections registrations list.

Barekov is a controversial figure in Bulgaria, with some voters ready to embrace him as a "clean" figure in politics and others alleging he has murky connections with businessmen.

Experts have suggested that Bulgaria without...