Army Doctor Becomes Varna Interim Mayor

Varna interim Mayor, Hristo Bozov is a former Head of the Navy Hospital in the city with a 25-year career as an army doctor. Photo by Bulfoto

The Deputy Mayor of Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Varna, Associated Professor Dr. Hristo Bozov is taking over the City Hall until the snap election.

The Chairman of the Municipal Council, Nikolay Apostolov, announced Bozov's name as a consensus between political parties and protesting citizens, Standard news reports.

Fourth-term Mayor, Kiril Yordanov, resigned on March 6, amidst huge protests.

The Municipal Electoral Commission has a 3pm-Tuesday deadline to reveal its decision on Yordanov's resignation. After that the Municipal Council has a 7-day deadline to convene and elect an interim Mayor.

Hristo Bozov is a former Head of the Navy Hospital in the city with a 25-year career as an army doctor. He is nonpartisan and was Deputy Mayor for Healthcare.

Meanwhile, a new clash erupted between different groups of protesting Varna residents, who are negotiating with Apostolov and municipal councilors.

One of these groups demands an audit of the City Hall, an audit of all municipal companies and public contracts, and a civic quota in all committees of the Council.

The other wants the collective resignation of the Municipal Council and has issued a 3-day deadline for it. Otherwise, they threaten civil arrest by blocking the City Hall building and not allowing anyone inside.

The largest demonstrations against high utility bills, monopolies, poverty, economic stagnation, corruption, and the political model of ruling the country after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989 were held in Varna.

Varna people also continue to pile rocks, stones and flowers near the City Hall where Plamen Goranov, 36, set himself on fire on February 20th, the very same day when the Cabinet of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and his Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, resigned amidst the unprecedented since 1997 protests.

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