Dictatorship is present when the separation of powers does not work, force is abused, and the repressive state machine is used to terrorize the opposition and change the vote of citizens. This was stated on the air of “Darik Radio” Nadezhda Yordanova, co-chair of the parliamentary group of “We continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria”.
“The scenario is for Blagomir Kotsev to be removed as mayor, to terminate his mandate and powers and for there to be elections again in Varna. Apparently GERB cannot accept that the people of Varna elected another mayor. This is one of the important elements of the dictatorship and the authoritarian regime - when those in power can erase and replace the democratic choice of so many people in just one week,” said Yordanova.
According to the former minister, the development of the case in the Sea Capital does not bear the marks of justice, but of repression against the political opponents of the government. Yordanova added that Kotsev's continued detention is a last resort measure, for the application of which there are insufficient arguments. She described as absolutely unacceptable the accepted opinion that the court is not obliged to check the prerequisites for its own jurisdiction.
“All these procedural dances, which allowed the Commission for Combating Corruption to choose its own prosecutor's office, and the prosecutor's office to choose its own court, mean that at the moment we do not have a fair trial against Kotsev and the detained municipal councilors from Varna. We are talking about electoral justice here, not the rule of law. This is not in anyone's interest and may momentarily serve the ruling party to show who holds not only the legal, but also the unregulated power. However, what is happening is destroying the social fabric, pushing us towards authoritarianism and at some point risks turning against the current ruling party”, believes Yordanova.
The representative of “Yes, Bulgaria” categorically emphasized that the court must apply the law equally to everyone, and any suspicion of a violation must be objectively and vigorously investigated by the prosecutor's office.
“When justice is not served in the courtroom, and politicians and the street begin to pronounce who is guilty and who is innocent - this is a very big problem, a sign of a lawless state and a path to anarchy” warned Yordanova.
The Minister of Justice in the 99th government of Bulgaria also commented on the diplomatic scandal that erupted after the reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the presence of the German Ambassador H.E. Irene Planck at the protest in front of the Courthouse earlier in the week. Yordanova emphasized that the work of every diplomat requires close monitoring of important processes in the respective country.
“The presence of diplomats in a trial of public interest is standard practice. This is not interference in the internal affairs of the country, but a common approach by which diplomats are informed. The position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unreasonable and inconsistent with the standards of good diplomatic work. If Minister Georgiev expects that issues such as the rule of law, abuse of power and repression of the opposition are not of interest to the EU and Council of Europe member states, then he has completely forgotten what the essence of these alliances is”, Yordanova said.
Regarding the election of the Ombudsman earlier today, Yordanova said that the ruling majority of GERB, BSP, ITN and “New Beginning” continues to rely on unprincipled backstage agreements. “Can someone explain how and why the BSP did not support their candidate? They did not seek support for him, but voted “for” the GERB candidate in order to make the election of Maya Manolova impossible. It was with the votes of the socialists that the GERB candidate was elected in the first round. There is no adequate political explanation for this - it is simply a matter of backstage deals and unprincipledness," Yordanova concluded.