At a press conference at BTA, Kiril Petkov announced that he was resigning as co-chairman of “We Continue the Change“ and as a deputy from the PP-DB PG, considering the party nominations for Sofia as his failure.
„These nominations were personally mine and I take political responsibility for my failure in the selection, which is why I am resigning as co-chair of the PP and as a deputy“, Petkov told the media, quoted by novini.bg.
We listened to the recording of the conversation between the district mayor of „Lyulin“ and the deputy mayor of Sofia. I don't know if this recording is real, but if it is real, it is a failure for the integrity of these people, he said regarding the tremors in the Sofia Municipality in recent days.
„When we first created the party, we talked about zero tolerance for corruption. This does not mean less corruption, it means zero tolerance. We have stood by this principle all along and we will not stop now. "I declare with absolute certainty that neither I nor anyone from the Executive Council knew about such conversations," the former prime minister assured at the press conference.
Petkov emphasized that the cause of the PP is “bigger than any of us“.
“I want to apologize to our voters for making this personnel mistake. During these four years, I have never betrayed them, I have never acted out of self-interest or fear. I have always worked with them in mind and for what I believed was good for their well-being”, the politician shared.
Petkov pointed out that even his political enemies knew that he was incorruptible and honest when it came to public finances.
I can say the same about Assen Vassilev, Nikolay Denkov, Lena Borislavova, and all my colleagues in the Executive Council. All of these people have one dream - for Bulgaria to be a normal European country, added Kiril Petkov.
During his statement, Petkov called on GERB leader Boyko Borisov to follow his example and also resign.
„I am resigning not because I am accused of corruption, but because there is corruption at the level of a district mayor in Sofia. It's time, Mr. Borisov, for you to do the same," Petkov challenged him.
Regarding the accusations of the mayor of “Ilinden“ that he had been threatened by him, Petkov explained that he had asked him only to wait until Easter, because in his words “it is not human“ to push houses of people with small children, without finding them an alternative place to live during Holy Week.
This is simply not human, that was my only request to him. If this is spiritual torture, but I really blame him – what kind of person do you have to be to leave people sick with cancer and children homeless before Easter, he shared.