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Bulgarian mayoral dismissals and eavesdropping probe

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2026-07-30 11:44 UTC → 2026-08-21 19:10 UTC · added removed

In July 2026 2026, Bulgaria’s anti‑corruption anti-corruption institutions acted against two municipal leaders. The Audit Chamber fined Stamboliyski mayor Petar Nedelov for authorising authorizing payments to his sons’ firms, ordered ordering repayment and imposed a fine pending appeal; Nedelov has refused to resign. resign, contesting the allegations and rejecting calls for early elections. Two weeks later later, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a ruling against Gorna Oryahovitsa mayor Nikolay Rashkov, confirming a fine, a two‑year two-year ban from office office, and the termination of his mandate after it was found he signed a contract to sell municipal land to a firm he once co‑owned. A presidential decree called for early elections in October. co-owned. On 22 July July, the Audit Chamber escalated Rashkov’s case, referring him for early removal and instructing the Municipal Election Commission to end his powers and organise organize partial local elections. A ten‑year asset review was also ordered to verify his holdings. A further development criminal dimension emerged on 30 July: July when the District Prosecutor’s Office in Veliko Tarnovo launched a probe into illegal listening devices discovered in the Gorna Oryahovitsa municipal building. The investigation, started which began in March, targets an unknown perpetrator; perpetrator and has involved the interrogation of dozens of witnesses, including Rashkov, have been interrogated. Former staff who reported the devices left Rashkov. On 20 August, the administration under Administrative Court in Veliko Tarnovo overturned a “staff optimisation” scheme. decision by the Municipal Election Commission regarding the early termination of Rashkov’s powers. The municipal electoral commission is scheduled to decide had previously been split equally on 31 July whether to terminate Rashkov’s early mandate, a move that could accelerate the partial elections already anticipated. matter. The eavesdropping inquiry adds a criminal dimension to court has returned the ongoing political pressure on case file to the mayor. commission for a new pronouncement within three days, a decision that remains subject to appeal.

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  1. 2026-08-21 19:10 UTC Bulgarian mayoral dismissals and eavesdropping probe
  2. 2026-07-30 11:44 UTC Bulgarian mayoral dismissals and eavesdropping probe

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