Thousands Protest in Bulgaria for Parliamentary Republic and EU/NATO Membership

Three days after thousands protested against President Rumen Radev’s blatant efforts to prevent the formation of a regular government and effectively hold on to power through his caretaker governments, a new protest was held on Friday night for Bulgaria as a parliamentary republic and a member of the EU and NATO.

After 6:30 p.m., thousands of citizens again gathered in front of the Presidency building. Later, the protest continued with a march to the National Assembly and blocking of traffic on the Orlav Bridge. The event was organized by “Justice for Everyone” initiative.

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic in which there should be separation and mutual control between authorities, and this means a functioning parliament, a regular government and a judicial system with an independent court and an accountable prosecutor’s office, the announcement says.

According to the Constitution, the president is the head of state, equally distant from all authorities. He may be entitled to a political position, but it is inadmissible to suggest to any political force not to fulfill the mandate given to form a government because he has already been “discredited”. It is also inadmissible for him not to call regular meetings of the CSNS or to try to declare according to his own criteria that he will not admit to them persons or parties who are participants in his meetings by right, the organizers of the protest said.

With these public provocations, he violates the Constitution, which he took an oath to uphold, in view of the consequences – creating the conditions for the failure of yet another parliament and the corresponding extension of his sole power with caretaker governments. Yes, power delights, but it also corrupts when it is exercised without the control mechanisms provided for in our basic law. Let’s not forget that Bulgaria is a parliamentary, not a presidential republic, and we hope it will remain so!

Bulgaria chose its path of development a long time ago – it is a member of the European Union and in the collective security system of NATO, but let’s not forget that it is not guaranteed if we do not stand up and protect it in critical moments. We are in Europe, not in Eurasia, and we will categorically oppose all attempts to be returned to the orbit of influence of totalitarian states, said the organizers of today’s protest.

“Each Bulgarian citizen must decide which side of history he will stand on, because before us is a civilizational choice”. This was stated for BGNES by Andrey Gyurov from PP, who is also part of the protest.

“We must not allow Bulgaria to return to the zone of Eurasian dictatorships. We are a European country. At the moment, there is a synchronicity between many forces, whose goal is for Bulgaria to break this path and return to the zone of influence”, said Gyurov.

Citizens carried placards that read: “Radev Putin’s agent”, “Radev betrayed European Bulgaria”, “Muncho, whose is Crimea?”. A large blue banner was also unfurled, on which was written “Bulgaria is with Ukraine and Europe” in yellow letters.

In front of the protesters, the deputy from “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” (PP-DB) Yavor Bozhankov called “to keep Bulgaria as a European and NATO country”.

We say “this is not Moscow”, but there are some people who want Moscow to be here, and they take advantage of all the blessings of the free world. We must show wisdom, patience and stand up for our values, said Bozhankov.

The joint government with GERB-SDS is the only possible option now, which parries this risk for the country, but as citizens we must be alert and watch whether they will deviate from the road, urged Iliyan Vasilev.

Manol Peykov, MP from PP-DB, commented to the protesters about the tension that arose on Thursday in the National Assembly between “Vazrazhdane” and MPs from PP-DB. In his words, we must “tame” our country. “If possible, save the friendly fire! Trust us, we will not betray you,” Peykov addressed the thousands on the square.

Rumen Radev will not create his own party, because there is already one – “Vazrazhdane”, said Radoslav Bimbalov.

Let’s preserve democracy in our country, urged lawyer Emil Georgiev. He added that the Constitution provides for governance to be carried out by a regular parliament. In Bulgaria, there is no single official authority, Georgiev said.

Later, the protesters in defense of parliamentarism blocked Orlov Most. Demonstrators chanted “This is not Moscow”. The protesters carried the Bulgarian and European flags, as well as placards reading “Radev, you are free to go down in the east”, “79 years is enough” and “Radev national traitor”.