Protesters with a banner reading “Corruption – Resignation”, in Sofia, Bulgaria on July 29, 2020. – Valentina Petrova / AP / SIPA
For three weeks, the protest has not weakened in Bulgaria. Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of downtown Sofia on Wednesday evening to demand the resignation of the irremovable conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Other smaller demonstrations took place across the country, but the number of participants did not live up to the call made by the organizers.
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A march in front of the seat of government
Over 5,000 people flocked to the sound of vuvuzelas outside the seat of government in the capital, chanting “Resign! And waving Bulgarian flags. Hundreds more marched for hours along a busy downtown boulevard that connects government buildings, Parliament and the heavily trafficked Eagle Bridge, blocking all traffic.
Besides the resignation of the Prime Minister, the demonstrators, mostly young, demand the ousting of the chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev, both accused by the participants of having links with influential oligarchs. “End of the legal mafia”, could be read on a sign held up by Dimitar Ivanov, 18 years old. “We don’t want to emigrate, we want to stay in Bulgaria and we can no longer tolerate a government made up of incompetent puppets. We will keep the pressure on until something changes. We hope that Europe will hear us and that it will help us, ”he insisted. “Borissov must resign, he no longer has his place in the government,” said Ema Krumovska, 30, insisting on the fact that the Prime Minister wishes “to buy the next elections”.
The Prime Minister will go all the way
Demonstrators have been protesting against corruption since a search carried out in early July in the offices of two advisers to President Roumen Radev, close to the Socialists and very critical of the Borissov government. In power since 2009, the Prime Minister has already announced that he will complete his third term, which ends in March 2021. Thirteen years after joining the EU, Bulgaria remains the country most poor and most affected by corruption, according to the NGO Transparency International.