Elections are approaching, but not only those for parliament. The SJC also opened a procedure for the election of a new chief prosecutor, and the candidacy is currently one – of acting Borislav Sarafov. Where the battle is more intriguing… Attorney Gancho Ganchev spoke to FACTS.
- Attorney Ganchev, parliamentary elections or election for chief prosecutor. Which is more interesting…
- Unfortunately, in both cases there is practically no choice. Never in Bulgarian historical memory has there been a period during which Bulgarian citizens were so disgusted by the political caste as now. I say caste because the Bulgarian political “elite” it has long since lost its legitimacy and sense of belonging to our society. The circus that we observe every day is based on the scenario of the “deep” country. Same play with different sets. I say sets because the actors are still the same. Whether Sarafov or Geshev or anyone else is the chief prosecutor – it doesn't really matter. Why?
Because with this composition of the SJC, there is no way to broadcast a person with his own opinion and position, a person who is outside the dependencies and circles of influence.
There is no way to broadcast and elect a chief prosecutor who is an independent representative of the professional guilds, a person with authority in society, a person with clear civic positions, a person with rich culture and erudition, with undeniable moral and ethical qualities. This is impossible with addictions so visible even to the naked eye in our judicial system. To keep the backroom functioning, the Attorney General needs a “club” with which to punish the inconvenient and protect his own. In practice, the figure of the Attorney General makes them untouchable. That is why this system gives birth to monsters. Whoever is the chief prosecutor in the political situation structured like this, the choice will always be the same - only the names will be different. In this case, the mentality and the way of applying the law are diametrically opposed to the rule of law.
See,
the attorney general should not be a compromise option, he should be uncompromising!
Such is the situation with the parliamentary vote. For a long time, the local feudal lords in the person of the municipal mayors through the controlled, corporate and bought vote have become the root cause of the multiplication of the same political subjects in each new election. As we have seen, on the ground, the displacement of layers at the local level, the firing of municipal mayors, deribei, feudal lords and big businessmen leads to serious tremors in practically highly structured parties of the transition. I mean DPS and BSP. I will venture to make a prediction that
by the summer of next 2025, the next party that will suffer irreversible tremors will be GERB.
In this regard, neither one nor the other vote is interesting for the voters, because according to them the match is played.
- When voting for parliament, there are many political subjects who fight for our vote, because everyone wants to govern us? And why does no one want to be the chief prosecutor except for the currently acting Borislav Sarafov?
- In practice, none of the current parties wants to govern. The aim of the parties is not to create a stable government, but rather a short-lived one, which will allow them to control the vacant seats in regulators, to elect their people to the SJC, SAC, VKS, services, in general to continue dictating the rules and the agenda in the state. It is not by chance that since the dawn of democracy, the DPS has been the main personnel in our judicial system. Only now, with the rift between Peevski and Dogan, has this crystallized. It was seen that the court, the prosecutor's office, the investigation and all their subdivisions have long been in the hands of political circles and behind the scenes. You don't think that Pepi Euroto and the Notary are just random people who accidentally fell into the scheme.
They are the link, the clean gloves that clean up the dirty money, the link between organized crime and the corrupt political class. As both criminal structures are cared for and protected by the judicial power structures.
Regarding your question “… why doesn't anyone want to be attorney general?“. I don't think so. As I said above, with this SJC, the choice is predetermined. Here, programs and visions are not presented, but muscles are played, the number of the 13 high magistrates and their vote is decisive here. The controlled majority in the SJC aims to appoint a continuation of Geshev's policy, turning him into a convenient tool that controls the "distribution of portions".
The balance in the state has been disturbed, the center of gravity has shifted, which, unfortunately, has allowed certain political-oligarchic circles to rent it.
- The elections are national, but they are supported by the people in places. We see a new approach by GERB and DPS - a new beginning to bet on leaders of lists of mayors who will not be MPs. What kind of move is this? And what is the power of local mayors?
- The parties have run out of recognizable faces who are well accepted in our society. People are tired of the same regular speakers. Examples of this a lot. For this reason, the parties use all the means at their disposal, namely the municipal mayors, who from their position control the mayors of town halls. Recognizable faces clothed in power. Why do they use them? Because the municipal mayor is at the end of the path of the money from the funds and the state budget to the companies on the ground.
Mayors in places are the “black box” of the parties.
Municipal mayors have long since become not just feudal lords, but practically untouchable local deribes. They dictate the agenda, they spend public resources, they determine the future of people in smaller municipalities and settlements. They are the ones who are at the root of this vicious political system, the fruits of which we are still reaping today. They are the reason why the same political entities periodically represent themselves in parliament and govern us. They tolerate marginal and criminal subjects, different social and ethnic groups in places. For a long time, the local government has been in dialogue with them both in local and parliamentary elections. And if you sometimes wonder why crime can't be controlled - think who benefits from it? We are talking about a perfect symbiosis. What do the flowers get? Of course, indulgences from the prosecutor's office for their selfless work during elections, and the judicial system turns a blind eye to the illegal actions of these same local “greats”. In practice, the political class works on a whim, giving indulgences to the corrupt local elite and thus receiving unreserved support in elections. A vicious cycle.
In this regard, I will also give you an example of abuse of influence and power, from the area of the Karlovo municipality. On October 11, 2024 – literally days ago, the mayor of the municipality of Karlovo allowed himself to publicly threaten the local people who came to the presentation of one of the candidates scheduled for October 20, 2024. partial vote for mayor of the village of Voyanyagovo with the words: “... there is no guarantee, I say it honestly because I want to be honest with you. If it is another mayor or you prefer not to choose the mayor I stand behind, I do not take any guarantees for these things......” The mayor, of course, refers to infrastructure, kindergartens, parks, etc. The deputy mayor of Karlovo municipality, the chairman of the Karlovo municipal council, who is a candidate for deputy, were also present at the same meeting. All three are representatives of the same governing coalition. I don't mention her on purpose. In this regard, on October 18, 2024 a report was also submitted to OIK Karlovo.
And here is the time to ask where is the prosecutor's office, the services? where are they They sleep with their eyes wide open.
Why? Because the indulgences have already been given out. There is no municipal mayor who does not have at least three or four pre-trial proceedings of corpses, through which the direction of movement and behavior can be determined. There is no way there can be order and legality in such a country. In such a country, everyone is looking for a convenient opportunity to infiltrate power. To conform and accumulate blessings. Politics in general has become a permanent prison for mediocre people.
- Many and diverse parties are expected to enter the parliament. And then an office, how?
- Interest in regulators and control of the judicial system are a strong catalyst for any “combinations”. The personal interests of our political elite have long overcome the national ones. I will not be surprised if certain party leaders suffer a catharsis again and take a direction opposite to everything they have convinced us of. We've already looked at similar scenarios. The situation is very complicated, and there are currently missing pieces of the puzzle. Things that at first glance escape outside observers, but rest assured that communications between individual political entities have not stopped. The price is rising, and the survival of certain people is at stake - economically, politically and last but not least, physically. The time is not far off when the hopeless political situation will require the physical removal of certain factors from our political scene - literally.
- Do you see any points of contact between the parties?
- The intersection point of all political entities and their leaders have always been financial interests and spheres of influence. On this plane, it is only a matter of time before politicians embrace each other, but united by a single goal - their own survival. The field of the political scene is increasingly lacking in ideas and policies. Civil society has long since abdicated and is not in the capacity of a corrective, because it was lied to repeatedly. Nihilism and apathy are everywhere. Bulgaria is in a hole, in which it is falling more and more, and the light above us is getting smaller and smaller. Unfortunately, we haven't bottomed out yet to push back up. The blow to the bottom will be painful and someone has to pay for this pain.
The question is who will be the scapegoat?
Bulgaria has long since become a banana republic and we all live in a jungle. The law rules here: “The stronger eats the weaker!”