The mayors of the Lyulin and Mladost districts, Georgi Todorov and Eng. Ivaylo Kukurin, along with municipal councilors Dragomir Ivanov Dragomirov and Dimitar Shalafov, have all resigned from the party and say they will continue as independents.

We Continue the Change is one of Bulgaria’s main political forces. It has been part of the country’s recent governing coalitions and has produced prime ministers, including Kiril Petkov (December 2021-August 2022) and Nikolay Denkov (June 2023-April 2024).

At a press conference, Kukurin claimed that after taking office, he faced pressure to sign off on pre-arranged public contracts and share commissions with the party. He said this went against his principles and announced he would not allow his name to be misused for corrupt deals.

Lyulin’s mayor, Todorov, said he had experienced similar pressure and stressed that he remains independent and non-partisan. Municipal councilor Dimitar Shalafov described the party’s promises of reform as empty, stating that its founding principles exist “only on paper.”

They all emphasized that they had informed Sofia’s mayor, Vasil Terziev, of their allegations but did not blame him personally. They called on him to address corruption within the city administration.

The group declined to name specific party leaders or companies involved in the alleged wrongdoing but promised more details soon. They also expect retaliation from PP for going public. | BGNES