Interior Minister Blames Protest Organizers for Post-Demonstration Vandalism in Sofia

Interior Minister Daniel Mitov has accused the organizers of the massive protest in Sofia of failing to prevent vandalism carried out by provocateurs after the official conclusion of the demonstration. His remarks were made during a parliamentary hearing alongside other representatives from the Interior Ministry on Thursday.

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The opposition coalition WCC-DB, which organized the protest, denied the accusation, stating that they had made efforts to identify and stop the agitators but were hindered by insufficient police presence and a lack of timely response. “All video footage shows the police acting in sync with the provocateurs,” said Asen Vassilev, chairman of “We Continue the Change” (WCC).

The hearing followed a large protest on Monday night, which drew tens of thousands of participants demanding the withdrawal of the government’s draft Budget 2026 and the resignation of the cabinet. The protest was reportedly peaceful until around 10 p.m., when clashes erupted near the DPS-New Beginning headquarters of Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned for corruption (Magnitsky Act).

After the official end of the demonstration, masked individuals threw pirate flags, stakes, and road signs, set fire to garbage containers, vandalized a police van, and damaged a GERB party office. According to WCC-DB representatives, these were football agitators, and the police did not react quickly enough to stop them. Both protesters and opposition leaders accused the Interior Ministry of enabling the provocateurs to disrupt an otherwise peaceful event.

During the hearing, Mitov placed responsibility on the organizers for not taking measures to prevent the participation of masked, armed, or intoxicated individuals. “What actions have you taken in this regard? You blame everything on the police,” he asked WCC-DB members. Ivaylo Mirchev replied that the coalition had sought police assistance, but the number of officers present was insufficient to control the agitators. Atanas Slavov added that the Interior Ministry must not evade its core duty of maintaining public order.

Asen Vassilev criticized Mitov for ignoring the coalition’s concerns and called on him to assume proper ministerial responsibility. WCC-DB had demanded Mitov’s resignation on Monday, but he rejected this, stating that the protest did not conclude with violence or bloodshed. Lyubomir Nikolov, director of the Sofia Directorate of Interior Affairs, also testified, denying claims of inadequate police staffing.

The protest targeted the 2026 budget, which proposed higher taxes and social security contributions for the private sector while increasing state sector spending. Demonstrators demanded both the withdrawal of the budget and the resignation of the government. Although the ruling party withdrew the budget, it refused to resign, prompting WCC-DB to announce that a no-confidence vote would be submitted on Friday and a new protest on Wednesday.

Following the protest, the press center of “Yes, Bulgaria” released video footage showing the provocateurs mingling with and moving separately from the main body of protesters. These images, featuring burning garbage bins on Dondukov Boulevard, overshadowed coverage of the record-breaking crowd. During Thursday’s parliamentary hearing, Speaker Raya Nazaryan refused to release full recordings of the events, citing procedural requirements for prior requests from WCC-DB.