A day after two Sofia district mayors and two municipal councilors from "We Continue the Change" announced that they were leaving the party and becoming independent due to pressure in connection with specific public procurements, the Anti-Corruption Commission entered the Sofia Municipality.
According to information from the Bulgarian National Radio, the inspectors are searching the office of Sofia Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov.
There is no official information so far, except that the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has been notified of the Anti-Corruption Commission's action and expects to be reported the results of it. According to unofficial information, however, the Anti-Corruption Commission took action after yesterday's press conference of the district mayors of "Lyulin" and "Mladost" - Georgi Todorov and Ivaylo Kukurin and the now independent municipal councilors Dragomir Dragomirov and Dimitar Shalafov, in which they spoke of "systemic pressure for "manipulation of public procurements, percentages and redirection of funds to the party coffers". They also mentioned the external influence of a deputy from "We Continue the Change". In parallel with what they said, the Anti-Corruption Commission also received a signal with similar allegations. Again, according to information from the Bulgarian National Radio, it is very likely that searches will be carried out in other buildings, not just the one at the Sofia City Hall.
That the investigative authorities are about to be activated became clear from posts on the Facebook social network by some of the former members of "We Continue the Change".
Georgi Todorov, mayor of the "Lyulin" district, wrote that after the press conference yesterday he was summoned and gave testimony before the investigative authorities about corrupt practices and manipulation of public procurement. "Be sure that everything I have stated, I have heard and seen personally", he writes.
"While my former party members declared their empty slogans about honesty and the fight against corruption, I spent hours at a desk in front of my own conscience".
Ivaylo Kukurin, mayor of the "Mladost" district, is more laconic and writes only that he was summoned, gave testimony and provided everything he had. Yesterday, however, it was he who spoke about agreed orders, pressure on companies and attempts at influence peddling, and that the last straw was when he was offered "a percentage" against being a "rubber stamp".
Municipal Councilor Dimitar Shalyafov apologizes for not responding to calls because he was testifying late at night at the Anti-Corruption Commission and did not have a phone. Specifying that he had provided all the information and facts known to him, he addresses "all those concerned about the Truth, that it will soon come to light, but many of those who ask about it may not be able to swallow it". "To calm passions, I will say that I will not take pictures with anyone and I am not the person accustomed to text messages - "222 Idvai." And no, I was not bought and I was not sold, because silence can be bought - and my colleagues and I chose not to be silent! ", concludes Shalafov.
The second municipal councilor to leave "We continue the change" - Dragomir Dragomirov, asks: "How the hell is the GERB, Peevski or Dogan model (all three are correct) being dismantled if we act like them?"
Before the Anti-Corruption Commission entered the Sofia Municipality, Mayor Terziev commented on the allegations of attempted corruption pressure by the four who left the PP to Radio Sofia:
"I am not that surprised. There is constant pressure. You know that in a big city there are many economic interests, political interests, so this is everyday life. The point is for these things to intersect, and that's why I've always appealed, when someone is being pressured, things are being asked of them that are not legal, not right, to ring the bell, to notify the right institutions and to simply eradicate these things, as much as we can, from our daily lives.