The former co-chair of "We Continue the Change" Kiril Petkov arrived in Varna today in support of the detained mayor Blagomir Kotsev. Petkov called on all Varna residents to join the protest today at 6:00 p.m. in front of the municipality building.
"The date is not accidental. The city budget will be reviewed tomorrow. I know Blago, he will not fold", Kiril Petkov told media in Varna. He described the actions of the Anti-Corruption Commission as "unprecedented political repression".
According to Petkov, the search warrant was issued on July 2, but the anti-corruption commission decided to act only on July 8 - immediately before the vote on the Varna budget for 2025.
The entire parliamentary group of "We Continue the Change" arrived in the seaside capital to participate in the protest. Representatives of other parties are expected to join today, including from "Velichie", which announced support for the demonstration.
"Varna is the sea capital of Bulgaria and many free people live there, very intelligent people, we are not talking about political bias, but people who will simply say no", Petkov emphasized.
Deputy Mayor Pavel Popov commented that what happened was aimed at limiting the mayor's participation in the long-postponed session of the Municipal Council, at which the budget for 2025, amounting to over 800 million leva, should be adopted.
Blagomir Kotsev was arrested at exactly 11:30 p.m. on July 8, 2025, his lawyer Milen Ralchev announced. According to the defense attorney, the actions against the mayor began at 3:00 p.m. on the same day when his mobile phone was taken away.
The arrest has been extended, and the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office will file charges against the mayor. It is expected that a permanent arrest will also be requested for Kotsev. It is not yet clear when exactly the detention order will be considered - on Thursday or Friday at the Sofia City Court.
The arrest is related to a public procurement contract for feeding disadvantaged children worth 1.5 million leva. The report against the mayor was filed by Plamenka Dimitrova, owner of the company "Zaliva 47-SP", which did not win the contract.
According to Assen Vassilev, chairman of "We Continue the Change", Dimitrova's company won 17 public contracts worth over 6 million leva during the term of the previous mayor Ivan Portnih from GERB. After losing the contract in 2024, it appealed the decision to the Commission for Protection of Competition and to the Supreme Administrative Court, but without success.
The leader of "We Continue the Change" Assen Vassilev described the case as "absolute political repression" and accused the leader of DPS - New Beginning Delyan Peevski of trying to help GERB win Varna and Sofia.
From "Vazrazhdane" also commented on the case, with the leader of their parliamentary group Kostadin Kostadinov raising the question of whether similar actions will be taken against mayors from the DPS and GERB.
Kotsev's lawyer Milen Ralchev said that he sees a "political context to this detention and the pursuit of political goals". He announced that the detention measure will be appealed.
The protest under the slogan "Support for Blagomir Kotsev! Peevski and SGP, hands down from Varna!" will be held today at 6:00 PM in front of the Varna Municipality building.