“My motivation for running is that Bulgaria needs a strong and independent president. A president on whom Bulgarian citizens can rely. After the end of the term of the caretaker government, I took a tour of the country, met with many people and saw several things. I saw trust, I heard many words of hope, but I also saw concern – concern about the change in the country's orientation, about the concentration of power“. He commented on this in the program “120 minutes“ former acting Prime Minister and presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov.
A President Who Can Say "No"
"And that's why my motivation is to win these elections so that the country can have a president who can say "no" when the government proposes a bad budget, who can say "no" to the executive and legislative branches, because otherwise it becomes a one-man government. And that's extremely worrying", he pointed out.
Peace in Ukraine
"A just peace is a peace that guarantees that it will be sustainable. A just peace is not a peace that is short-term between two stages of war. And that's why, in order to be just and sustainable, it must comply with international law, not have double standards. "It is fundamental in international law that borders cannot be changed by force," Gyurov commented on achieving peace in Ukraine.
„It is very important how this conflict will actually end, because the way the war in Ukraine is concluded will determine the security architecture in Europe from now on. This is extremely important for us, who are on the eastern flank, who are very close to the conflict. Let's not forget that there are Russian officials who say that NATO should return to the pre-1997 borders. "How does this affect Bulgaria?" the presidential candidate asked.
He added that Bulgaria must have a very clear position and a very clear direction and be part of the alliances that will give us security, confidence and prosperity.
Europe and the USA
„Maintaining dialogue and cooperation across the Atlantic is extremely important for Europe, because we see that on the basis of this cooperation, peace was preserved in Europe 80 years after the end of World War II. This is extremely important for us, but in an open cooperation and partnership, one must also be able to say mistakes when they are made.
In this case, Europe's position, and Bulgaria's position should be the same, of course, is that entering a conflict without a plan can lead to very unpleasant consequences, such as we are currently seeing,“, commented Andrey Gyurov.
“The official position of the European Union, and the one that Bulgaria supports, is that we must move in the direction of strengthening the sanctions regime and thus seek an end to the conflict. In an open and clear partnership, one should be able to say when we agree and when we disagree with certain actions, even those of our allies,“ he noted.
Difference between messages
According to Andrey Gyurov, there is a difference between the messages sent by the current government and the presidency abroad and in Bulgaria.
“This does not lead to good results in any case, because first it must be clear in Bulgarian society what the national interest is. And Bulgaria's national interest is not to sit in isolation, but to protect its interests, its security and well-being on the basis of the strong alliances in which it participates“, he noted.
“We are part of Europe - one of the oldest countries on the continent. 70% of our economy depends on the European Union. Our children study in Europe. We travel in Europe, so we are inextricably linked to the continent. When this is the case, we must have very clear positions, we must be in solidarity with our partners“, added the presidential candidate.
“Then, when, for example, there is a threat against Germany – we saw the case with the Leipzig airport – then we say outside: “Yes, we are in solidarity“, and here, from the rostrum of the National Assembly, we actually express doubt whether what our German partners are saying is really true or not“, noted Gyurov.
The pardon of Ognyan Atanasov by Iliana Yotova
The case of the pardon of Iliana Yotova as vice president of Ognyan Atanasov – became one of the hottest topics even before the start of the campaign.
“In my opinion, both with this instrument, which is within the powers of the head of state, and with all others, there should be very clear criteria by which these pardons are granted. Above all, there should be transparency, it should be clear to people why and by what criteria these pardons are granted. They should be on a very clear basis. Is there a possibility of resocialization, is there a change in the behavior of the convicted person, is there a danger - what does the risk to society from such a pardon look like, and a number of other things – humanitarian issues, for example, that must be taken into account“, believes Andrey Gyurov.
“When these criteria are clear and transparently shown to Bulgarian citizens, then they can quite easily assess whether they are exercised correctly or incorrectly by the person exercising them“, he added.
“There may be some humanitarian reasons, medical reasons for the pardon, but then, when he is in a state of relapse, when this same person can sell doses that lead to death or illness in families, in children, then naturally the risk of the pardon is much greater than the relevant humanitarian needs that are being served“, pointed out Gyurov.
The "Petrokhan-Okolchitsa" case
The second question that invariably marks the week before the official start of the campaign are the new expert conclusions about the case “Petrohan-Okolchitsa“.
“I don't think we heard any new facts, only suggestions, and I don't think this press conference in any way contributed to restoring people's trust in the work of the institutions. Moreover, it was heard that even the prosecutor's office and the National Security Agency had information since 2022. It was forwarded to the prosecutor's office in 2025. If these institutions had done their job, most likely there would not have been this tragedy with six victims“, commented Andrey Gyurov.
“I, as acting prime minister, was already in the prosecutor's office. Naturally, I requested all the information and gave orders for complete transparency in the case. Everything that could have been said was said. And my position has been and always will be that all information must reach the public, to see why it has come to this point, where we have failed as institutions, as a society, to have this tragedy and so that it does not happen again“, he pointed out.
Expansion of the list of who can be elected as acting prime minister
The 2023 changes limited the president's choice - who to appoint as acting prime minister, to people in public positions, most of whom are elected by parliament.
According to him, the presidency does not necessarily need more powers to do its job better.
“I think there are enough ways for a strong and independent president to be able to meet the expectations of Bulgarian citizens. To the extent that there is a list of people who would be options for acting prime minister - yes, we can talk about expanding the list, adding other positions that would be suitable.
In general, I think that this constitutional reform is doing exactly the job it was carried out for, namely to avoid the concentration of power in the hands of one person at certain times,“ the former acting prime minister noted.
“Regardless of whether I am this person or someone else, it is always a danger to the democratic development of the state“, he pointed out.
Public procurement for guardrails and Peevski's flights
On Friday, the Ministry of Interior announced that, according to materials collected by the Interior Ministry, a company to which funds were directed from companies under public procurement for guardrails paid for 36 flights for Delyan Peevski worth over 5 million euros.
Peevski rejected the allegations. The materials were sent to the prosecutor's office as fabrication.
When asked what the president could do within his powers in such a situation, Gyurov commented:
„I don't think this is within the president's powers. What he can do as a strong voice, received in a majority election directly from Bulgarian citizens, is to focus society's attention on major problems, institutional problems such as the problem with the judicial system and the administration of justice in the country. What I would really like to see, in all these cases we are talking about, is a suitable and adequate judicial act“.
“Not only to hold press conferences, make suggestions, present data that lead nowhere, but to really have, when there is a violation of the law, to have convictions and people who are in prison for corruption“, he added.
A man who lends a hand, but would not hesitate to be an opponent
In Gyurov's words, he is a man who usually lends a hand.
„I am always ready to work when it is in the interest of Bulgarian citizens, and I am ready to seek dialogue and a common direction and a common view of the country's problems. But I would not hesitate to become an opponent and to say loudly and clearly when I think that certain actions and decisions are not in the interest of Bulgarian citizens“, the presidential candidate pointed out.
Message to the people
When asked what he would say to people who do not recognize themselves in either „Progressive Bulgaria“, or „We continue the change“ or „Democratic Bulgaria“, Gyurov pointed out:
„I have always stated that our platform is civil, not political. Naturally, the hard cores do not do mathematics that can give an answer to the result in the next presidential elections. That is why we have a civic platform, we are addressing all Bulgarian, democratically minded and pro-European Bulgarian citizens who rely on having a responsible and independent presidential institution that will fight for their interests and which will be a balance of governance“.
“Unity is something that we have not seen in recent years and will truly be a main goal for the president in the next term. Our other goal is to be very close to Bulgarian citizens and to listen to them not only during the campaign, but also during the implementation of the mandate - to be close to them, to listen to their problems, to put them in the focus of society and to solve them“, commented Andrey Gyurov.