GERB called for the resignation of Prime Minister Rumen Radev and the ministers who, according to the party, bear responsibility for the tragedy on the Trakia Motorway. Twelve people died and dozens were injured in the chain-reaction crashes.
GERB Deputy Chairman Daniel Mitov announced the party’s position at a briefing in the National Assembly. He expressed his condolences to the families of those who died and said that the party had not initially planned to make a political statement on the day of the tragedy, but the authorities’ reactions had made a response necessary.
“This political act will take the form of efforts to collect signatures for a no-confidence vote,” Mitov said. According to him, GERB will discuss taking parliamentary action and will insist on political accountability over shortcomings in the organization of road safety.
Dispute over the Connection between the Road Infrastructure Agency and the Interior Ministry
Mitov challenged Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev’s claim that there is no connection between the information systems of the Road Infrastructure Agency and the Interior Ministry. According to the GERB deputy chairman, such a connection exists through the National Traffic Safety Coordination Centre.
He also said that when the new road information system was presented on October 29, representatives of the Road Infrastructure Agency had reported that data was being exchanged with the Interior Ministry in real time.
Claims of Failures before the Crashes
Former Regional Development Minister Nikolay Nankov said that the institutions had been warned about the deteriorating weather. According to him, information about expected dense fog had reached the Road Infrastructure Agency’s Situation Centre before the incidents, while the cameras had shown dangerously reduced visibility at least an hour earlier.
Nankov accused the responsible institutions of failing to restrict the speed and secure the section in a timely manner. He said that a winter maintenance regime had not been introduced on the motorway and that the road surface had not been treated against icing.
According to Nankov, an order issued on August 19 had restricted activities related to the ongoing maintenance of the national roads, including the installation of signs, the application of road markings and preparations for the winter season. He also pointed to a notice from the Road Infrastructure Agency dated September 4 suspending certain activities until further instructions.
Nankov added that the contract for installing 40 electronic information boards along the Trakia Motorway, signed in 2020, had been terminated in 2022 without the project being implemented.
Dispute over the Audit by the National Audit Office
Temenuzhka Petkova accused the government of using the National Audit Office’s audit report to shift responsibility for the problems in the road infrastructure onto the previous administration.
She referred to page 136 of the document and said that for the 1,077 certificates of completed activities cited, there were no documents approved by the Road Infrastructure Agency’s Management Board and no invoices issued by the contractors. According to Petkova, the audit data was being presented in a misleading way.
At present, GERB has announced its intention to collect signatures for a no-confidence vote, but it has not been reported that such a motion has been submitted to the National Assembly.
Sources: news.bg, bnrnews.bg