Blagovest Georgiev: DUI, Hit and Run, and Refusal – Can a Municipal Councilor in Sofia Get Away with It?

Can a recidivist with a revoked license and refusal to give an alcohol test become a municipal councilor, while being a member of the transport and road safety commission in Sofia? This is the case with Blagovest Georgiev, who fled the scene of the accident on Friday evening and refused to give a sample for alcohol and drugs. The accident happened on “Dragan Tsankov” Blvd. and “Kiril Vidinski” St. in a minor accident between two cars.

Georgiev tried to leave the scene of the accident, but was stopped a few blocks from the accident. He refused to give a breathalyzer test and was arrested.

Georgiev was elected as a municipal councilor from the quota of “We continue the change” and is part of the group of PP-DB and “Save Sofia”. On Saturday, because of his action, everyone demanded his resignation. A check of “24 hours” on Sunday night found that

Georgiev did not submit his resignation over the weekend,

and it is necessary because he cannot, according to the rules, be disciplinary suspended. And the distinction can only be made by an independent municipal councilor, but with a salary of over BGN 5,700.

To be a municipal councilor, however, you have to meet a few simple rules, and among them there is no criminal record check. “The right to elect municipal councilors and mayors belongs to Bulgarian citizens who have reached the age of 18 on election day inclusive, have not been placed under interdiction, are not serving a sentence of imprisonment and have lived at least for the last 10 months in the relevant settlement”. written in the Local Elections Act.

And Georgiev himself managed to gather only 367 preferences in the local elections in October. During the election campaign, he promised that one of his main tasks would be road safety.

Incidents on the streets of Sofia are becoming more frequent and more monstrous. Accidents are becoming more frequent, the number of victims is increasing, life for entire families is turning into a tragedy. We put the person at the center of our program for Sofia. We want the people of Sofia to feel safe and for the city to have order and rules to be respected by everyone, he said during the election campaign in October.

And while he promised these things, it turns out that

in 2017 he was caught after consuming alcohol 0.8

and had his driving license revoked for 8 months. Then he was fined BGN 700. He was detained in the district office. Witnesses were found who stated that it was Georgiev who drove the car. In 2007, there was a refusal to take an alcohol test.

Rules and laws should apply equally to everyone. The behavior of Blagovest Georgiev, a municipal councilor from the PP-DB-SS group, is unacceptable and incompatible with our values ​​and principles and in complete contradiction with our commitment to safety and security in our city, said Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev.

A sharp reaction followed from the whole group of advisors of the PP-DB-SS, they also demanded the resignation of their colleague. The leader of “Save Sofia” Boris Bonev also issued a statement in which he was outraged by Georgiev’s behavior. I’m sorry and I’m ashamed. No one has the right to endanger the life and health of others because of their reckless behavior, Bonev said.

Municipal councilors from his party assessed his behavior as unacceptable, dangerous for others and violating not only laws and rules, but also public morality.

He must bear his responsibility before the law, but also as a municipal councilor, by submitting his resignation, which I expect and will accept, because the people who elected him cannot trust him anymore, said the head of the Metropolitan Municipal Council (SOS) ) Tsvetomir Petrov.

So far, requests for the resignation of councilor Georgiev remain unanswered.

Blagovest Georgiev was born in 1981 in Sofia and grew up in “Manastirski Livadi”. He graduated in law, then worked as an entrepreneur and consultant, and for the last three years he has been engaged in construction.

In addition to being a municipal councilor, Georgiev is also the father of two children.

For the post

it takes 10 months

address registration,

not to be under prohibition.

The mayor only collected

367 preferences, for now

he doesn’t plan to leave

neither the council nor

transport

committee

BLAGOVEST GEORGIEV

2024-04-07 19:15:00


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