Bulgaria's Yambol Mayor-reelect with New Guilty Verdict

The Mayor of Yambol, Georgi Slavov, insists all legal charges against him are politically motivated. Photo by BGNES

The magistrates from the Yambol Regional Court sentenced the city's Mayor-reelect, Georgi Slavov, to three years and eight months of jail time to be served in a minimum security facility.

In addition, Slavov is banned from being a Mayor for the next four years and must pay BNG 6 000 in expenses for the Regional Police Directorate and BGN 4 720 in Court expenses.

The rule can be appealed with a 15-day deadline with the Burgas Court of Appeals.

Slavov is charged with abuse of power and depriving the municipal budget by BGN 2 M.

According to the Prosecutor, Slavov, single-handedly and without consulting with the municipal council, hired a manager for one of the municipal companies. Later, the same manager, again without consent from the municipal council, signed a contract for the establishment of a public partnership company with a business from the city of Sliven, in which Slavov had shares before becoming mayor. Tthe company was declared the winning bidder in a public procurement procedure for cleaning services for Yambol.

The Mayor is indicted for violating the Municipal Property, Public Tenders, Budget, and Local Administration Acts.

Slavov has vowed to appeal, saying the charges are made-up. He insists that all trials against him are politically motivated.

The Mayor had been found guilty once on the same charges -  in 2010 he was sentenced by the Yambol Court to 5 years of jail, but the Burgas Court overturned the sentence on the grounds the magistrates' team was illegally selected. The case was resumed in the beginning of April with another team.

At the end of March, 2011, the Slavov was exonerated on charges of violating the Public Procurement Act in another case pertaining to renovations of the sports complex in the city and inflicting damages in the amount of BGN 30 000 to the City Hall.

Georgi Slavov ran for a second term in office as Mayor of Yambol on the ticket of the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party (GERB) and won in runoff with 55% of the vote against the candidate of the opposition, left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

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