Balgarianovinite.com The mayor of Varna, Bulgaria’s third-largest city, will be running the municipality from prison, where he has been held since July as part of a corruption investigation. His deputy Pavel Popov announced on Wednesday at a news conference that Blagomir Kotsev will officially resume his duties as mayor.
Elected mayor on the ticket of the opposition Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria in November 2023 – one of very few opposition mayors, including also that of Sofia, Kotsev was arrested on July 8 following a tip-off for corruption by a failed public procurement tenderer. He was charged with participation in an organized criminal group accused of engaging in abuse of office, bribery and money laundering. The court has consistently rejected his applications for release from custody, and accepted the prosecutors’ argument that he may interfere while the pre-trial proceedings were going on. The pre-trial proceedings are now over but the prosecutors still refuse to have him released from custody. Kotsev’s defence counsel have filed a new release application but it is not clear when the court will consider it.
Immediately before his arrest, Kotsev signed an order naming his deputy Pavel Popov to sit in for him. The order expired on November 1.
Popov said Wednesday that the temporary arrangement under which he had been acting as mayor for the past four months would now end. “Although Mayor Kotsev is in detention, he will perform his duties, and the practice of appointing a deputy to act in his place will be discontinued,” he said, adding that the team had developed a logistical system to deliver documents to Kotsev in Sofia for signature.
Popov reiterated that Kotsev denies any wrongdoing and described his continued detention as “inexplicable”. He expressed hope that prosecutors would soon agree to his release.
Local election officials in Varna are currently reviewing several petitions seeking Kotsev’s removal, but Popov argued there are no legal grounds for dismissing him, as the law allows for removal only after a final conviction.
Popov confirmed that Kotsev has no plans to resign and intends to hold a press conference after his release to discuss both the case and the city’s development mid-way through his term. “We are aware that this new way of working will come with logistical difficulties, but we have a plan to address those,” Popov said.
Kotsev’s Continue the Change party insist that his arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in his support have been staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities. The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament where Continue the Change is affiliated, sees Kotsev’s extended detention as “an onslaught on democratic institutions and rule of law in Bulgaria”. Varna Mayor to Run City from Prison amid Corruption Probe He Says Is Politically Motivated 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-12 14:05:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law