Bulgaria Ex PM Sides with Embattled Interior Minister over 'Watergate'

Tsvetan Tsvetanov (L) and Boyko Borisov (R) are pictured here during the party’s pre-election conference with its slogan “We have will” seen above the screen. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria's former prime minister has vowed his fervent support for the interior minister in his cabinet a day after prosecutors alleged he was behind illegal wiretapping.

"I fully back Tsvetan Tsvetanov," Boyko Borisov said on Wednesday during a visit close to the town of Shumen.

He refused to give further details or comment the growing scandal some have dubbed "Bulgaria's Watergate."

Bulgarian prosecutors are alleging that former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was responsible for illegally wiretapping political opponents during his term.

Tsvetanov, who is running for Parliament in May 12 general elections and therefore has immunity, has denied any wrongdoing.

Earlier on Wednesday Tsvetanov declared that he is ready to give up his immunity, but only after the upcoming general elections.

"Once the election is over, and once the evidence collected is presented, I will be able to evaluate what has been gathered and I will undertake actions accordingly," Tsvetanov told supporters in the town of Kaspichan.

Tsvetanov's statement follows the announcement made on Tuesday by the Sofia prosecuting authority that there was sufficient evidence indicating that Tsvetanov had committed a crime.

The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office made clear that Tsvetanov, in his capacity as public official, had consciously allowed his subordinates to engage in illegal wiretapping. Charges cannot be pressed against Tsvetanov, since he is now running for Parliament, and therefore has immunity.

Tsvetanov, who is on a cross-country tour as head of the election headquarters of center-right party GERB, faces a penalty of up to eight years of imprisonment if the prosecuting authority presses charges and succeeds to prove them in court.

At the end of last week, a secretly recorded conversation between former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, former Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, and already-former Sofia City Prosecutor, Nikolay Kokinov, leaked in Bulgarian media, stirring a massive scandal.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!