First resignation in the "Gyurov" cabinet. Just a day after taking the oath as Deputy Prime Minister for the elections, Stoil Tsitselkov withdrew from the post.
This happened after the scandal that erupted yesterday around the biography of the current member of the Public Council to the CEC. ITN presented data on driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of marijuana and a ban by the European Commission to participate as an EU observer in elections.
"For two days, a massive attack has been going on against me. It's not personal. I am just a convenient target," Tsitselkov said in the Council of Ministers.
"This is an attack on the cabinet and its main mission - fair elections. This is an attack by circles who know that if the elections are according to the rules, they will not win. This is a last fight to preserve influence. Closed administrative issues from more than a decade ago are being brought out and checks are being activated with an obvious political purpose. I have no charges, no convictions, and no current restrictions at this time. I will not allow this type of policy to drag down the work of the cabinet. I will defend my rights in court against the illegal dissemination of personal data and abuse of power. Politics should be a field of ideas and actions, not a hunt for people, illegal use of archives. My certificate of conviction is clean, as is my conscience. Fair elections are more important than any one person. This is a cause for which I have been fighting for more than 20 years."
"I have never been accused of a lack of professionalism, transparency, a lack of competence, on the contrary. I am the only Bulgarian who participates in international conferences, Venice commissions. I have scientific publications on the topic of elections, I consult different governments, I have been doing this for 20 years. And in fact, the only place where I do it pro bono and for us as a society, so that we have good elections, is Bulgaria. My goal is that those who govern us are those for whom we have voted. Fair elections are a top priority for this government, protecting the vote is my number one cause."
Tsitselkov admitted that he had a difficult conversation with Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov.
"I spoke with Prime Minister Gyurov, the conversation was not easy. In such a situation there are no easy solutions, I received great support from the team. We are looking for the right way to protect this cause and fair elections, and it seems that at this moment my personality rather brings negatives, purely media, to our cause. So I will submit my resignation to the Prime Minister and President Yotova. Because the focus, mainly of you, the media, to be on political programs, over platforms, over what those who are fighting for your vote offer you, and not my private personality in a non-expert way."
"I will meet in court with everyone who tarnished my name," Tsitselkov emphasized.
The resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov.