Bulgaria's interior ministry chief secretary resigns

Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kandev is stepping down from his post, he said in a Facebook post on Monday.

“Having to choose between my position and my principles is impossible. Promising action when I am required to remain silent is equally impossible. I have understood the message,” Kandev wrote.

“For 30 years I have worn the uniform with the conviction that the law is the backbone of the state, and that a police officer’s duty is not to be convenient, but to be useful. That is why I cannot be the person who merely looks stern in front of cameras,” he said.

“My task has always been to seek the truth, take responsibility and make decisions when circumstances are difficult. In the months before the elections, I proved that I could fulfil that task when I had freedom to act and support. All police officers proved it. I do not want to bear responsibility for decisions I do not make, or for a facade that I do not wish to prop up with my name. There is no decree that can command public trust,” he added.

Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told reporters that he had been taken by surprise by Kandev's decision to end their working relationship without providing clear reasons. He said Kandev had cited personal motives, which the minister declined to disclose.

Kandev is a long-serving Interior Ministry official who has worked in various parts of the system. In recent months, he became more visible due to police operations targeting vote-buying ahead of elections and organised crime networks.

He was appointed acting Chief Secretary during the caretaker government led by Andrey Gyurov and remained in the post after parliamentary elections in April.

Editing by Miglena Ivanova