Bulgaria’s President is Suspicious of GERB’s sudden urge to remove the Prosecutor General

President Rumen Radev announced that before him is the question of whether the request of the prime minister candidate of the GERB-SDS Mariya Gabriel for the removal of the chief prosecutor is the result of hidden interests.

The head of state made his first comment on Gabriel's proposal from Pretoria, where he is on an official visit.

"Ms. Gabriel's sudden urge to demand the removal of Mr. Geshev hardly excites me. When in 2019 I returned the proposal to the Supreme Judicial Council to appoint Mr. Geshev as the chief prosecutor, the quota of Mrs. Gabriel's party re-elected him, and with majority. When three years ago I asked for the resignation of Ivan Geshev, Ms. Gabriel's party not only supported him, it was in collaboration with him. When two years ago the acting minister of justice I appointed asked for the removal of Ivan Geshev for the same reasons, the quota of Mrs. Gabriel's party saved him, again unanimously.

At the moment, a very important question is hanging - whether Ms. Gabriel's request is the result of a three-year-delayed enlightenment, a sudden catharsis, or a certain interest of the people behind Ms. Gabriel.

Bulgaria lost three years, in which the many reports of large-scale abuses submitted by my former governments to the prosecutor's office were lost. Corruption has gone undetected, the sense of justice has been crushed, and the political process has been crippled.

I strongly hope that the future Prime Minister of Bulgaria matures in time for the important decisions for Bulgaria."

Asked if it is possible that the idea of removing the chief prosecutor is actually the successful formula for creating a cabinet in this parliament, Radev replied: