Assen Peychev to FACTI: Elections began to be bought even before the resignation of the "Zhelyazkov" cabinet

The caretaker cabinet, headed by Andrey Gyurov, has undertaken large-scale personnel changes on the eve of the early parliamentary elections - replacement of 28 regional governors and reshuffles in the leadership of the Ministry of Interior. In parallel, the tension in the Middle East raises questions about national security and possible risks for Bulgaria. Dr. Assen Peychev, a lecturer in national security and counterterrorism expert, member of SORA, spoke to FACTI.

- Mr. Peychev, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov convened the National Security Council because of the Iran - Israel conflict. Do you see a threat to Bulgaria?
- In my opinion, the conflict is between Iran, the USA and Israel. Israel without the support of the United States would not be able to cope alone as a state against Iran. What is Iran at the moment? It is a state that claims to be a hegemon in the Islamic world by creating its own nuclear arsenal. Violating all international norms and rules, Iran is one step away from creating nuclear weapons. In its religious and political doctrine, Iran sets as one of its most important tasks the eradication of the state of Israel from the face of the earth. Since the regime of the ayatollahs has been in power, it has not stopped financing and generating international terrorism. There are many examples - Palestine, Lebanon, Syria. Organizations such as “Hezbollah“, “Hamas“ and many others. The very fact that in the current conflict Iran carried out an attack with missiles and drones against its neighbors - UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Iraqi Kurdistan and others - during the holiest Muslim holiday of Ramadan, shows that Iran would stop at nothing to achieve its goals at any cost. The fact that hotels and residential buildings were hit shows the terrorist nature of the regime. The threat to Bulgaria is not only from a ballistic missile attack, but also from terrorist acts. This threat is minimal given the distance and the fact that Bulgaria is not directly involved in the conflict, but only supports the US and Israel morally and logistically.

- There are American military aircraft at the “Vasil Levski“ airport. Could they be the target of an attack or a provocation?
- American military aircraft could be the target of both a provocation and an attack. Let's not forget the information that radical Islamists - fighters from the conflict zones in the Middle East - reside on the territory of Bulgaria. There are channels for illegal migrants through our territory, among whom terrorists and fighters have been identified. If activated, they are capable of carrying out an attack against military bases, equipment and against the aforementioned aircraft. Considering the state of our security services, the percentage of probability is increasing. I want to emphasize again that at the moment it is minimal, but we must have one thing in mind.

- And let's move on to the political terrain in Bulgaria. Acting Prime Minister Gyurov replaced all 28 regional governors before the early parliamentary elections. How do you assess this mass reshuffle - is it reasonable as part of the preparation for fair elections and will it affect the organizational work on the ground?
- The replacement of regional governors is reasonable and necessary, and we all hope that this action of the acting prime minister is in the direction of transparency and honesty in the battle for votes in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Let's hope that the newly appointed regional governors will lead an honest and transparent policy and will not have political dependencies and biases.

- Officially discussed the coordination between the regional governors and the directorates of the Ministry of Interior for the preparation of the elections. Do you think that this interaction can be effective without political pressure?
- I think that this interaction can be effective only when there is no political pressure on these structures. In view of the political situation in the country, it is clear that political pressure is being exerted, mainly by the parties from the coalition that ruled until recently, as well as by another party that supported them and sometimes imposed and dictated political decisions in parliament. Currently, there is fierce sabotage by these same parties, associated with the oligarchy and criminal structures. They will never voluntarily want to leave the political scene and will fight with all the forces and means at their disposal - in addition to financial, they are also power-related. The fact that the prosecutor's office is under their control makes them particularly aggressive in their attacks on Gyurov's official office.

- Interior Minister Emil Dechev replaced 23 police chiefs in the country on level of the Directorate of Internal Affairs, including in Sofia and other large directorates. What do you think is the purpose of this reorganization of the police leadership?
- This reorganization aims to remove dependent police chiefs from the political-oligarchic circles that appointed them. It is no secret among security people that when appointing each police chief, he assumes certain obligations to the circles that are behind his appointment. It is also no secret that some police chiefs are even involved in criminal offenses - drug trafficking, custom-made developments and arrests of inconvenient opponents. Personally, I have been a victim of the SDVR twice. There is an umbrella over different types of crime. In my opinion, a large part of the police chiefs - from the department chief upwards - are politically and criminally tied to the previous rulers. If we want fair and transparent elections, their replacement must be carried out quickly.

- Analysts claim that the replacement of police chiefs can be interpreted both as an attempt to better coordinate security and as a pre-election move with a potential political effect...
- The replacement of police chiefs is interpreted depending on the political biases of analysts. The truth is that it is late in many places. The elections began to be bought even before the resignation of the coalition cabinet “Zhelyazkov“. The caretaker cabinet must be aware that in addition to buying votes, there is also a corporate vote and an ethnic vote. Whatever coordination it does, at best the percentage of bought votes will be reduced. There are well-established structures of economic influence in the regions - pawnshops, enterprises providing jobs, whose owners are dependent on certain parties or are directly related to them. Fearing the loss of their livelihood, people vote for the political force indicated by their "feudal" party. This problem can hardly be overcome by a government office. Another serious problem is the control over the criminal contingent. Removing the regional director does not solve the problem. We need to go deeper and remove employees of the Ministry of Interior and at lower management levels who serve this criminal contingent.

- As a person from the security system, how do you view the structuring of a regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior - how encapsulated does it become over time?
- The structure of the regional directorate depends on the policy of the Minister of Interior and its director. If the minister leaves the regional director without control, he can turn into a local feudal lord. He begins to serve the local oligarchic and criminal power to the detriment of society. Appointments are made under external dictation, actions or inactions are taken that violate the interests of citizens. Relatives, close friends and associates are appointed. The quality and professionalism of the personnel suffer from this. All this leads to an erosion of trust in the Ministry of Interior and people begin to ask the question: “Why did we raise their salaries so much, since the “security“ service that we receive is not of the required quality?“

- The changes in the various directorates come against the backdrop of the “Petrohan“ case. How much has public trust in the Ministry of Interior been shaken based on this tragedy?
- These changes should have been made long before the “Petrohan“ case. As an expert in the field of security, I have signaled through interviews and publications that professional training in the Ministry of Interior has drastically declined and the criteria have been lowered. Shura-bajana appointments are being made. The level of cadets at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is falling. Many high-quality specialists were forced to leave under pressure. The result is visible. The arrogance of the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the case of the "Petrokhan" hut has run out of patience for the public. The appearance of commissioned experts and psychologists with credentials pleasing to the authorities has further intensified public discontent. Tolerance for such behavior is now almost zero.

- Some political parties are questioning the neutrality of the caretaker cabinet after these personnel changes. Do you think that such actions can undermine public trust in the elections or, on the contrary, strengthen it?
- Public trust was reduced to a critically low level by the status quo parties. From now on, the caretaker cabinet is tasked with restoring it and regaining citizens' trust in the institutions. All its actions are closely monitored – on the one hand, from his political opponents, who are looking for an excuse to compromise him, and on the other - from civil society, which has hope for change for the better.

- What is your forecast for the role of the caretaker cabinet in the preparation and course of the elections after these serious reshuffles?
- In order for these reshuffles to have a real effect, they must continue at lower management levels in the Ministry of Interior. The caretaker cabinet is obliged to organize fair elections and its actions show that it is striving in this direction. Minister Dechev has clearly defined the problems he faces and is trying to solve them.

- Do you expect an objective, effective and fair conduct of the vote, regardless of the political risks that some analysts believe exist?
- The answer is complex. For those who won the election, the vote will always be fair, and those who lost will contest it. In order for it to be perceived as fair by civil society, maximum efforts must be made to ensure that it is transparent and legal. The Ministry of Interior and all institutions that bear responsibility must strictly implement the law and convince citizens that the vote was not manipulated.