Top Police and Anti-Crime Directors Replaced to Ensure Election Integrity in Bulgaria

The Ministry of Interior has announced the dismissal of several top officials, including the heads of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, the General Directorate for National Police, and the General Directorate for Gendarmerie, Special Operations and Combating Terrorism. The outgoing directors are Boyan Raev, Zahari Vaskov, and Nikolay Nikolov, respectively, according to a statement from the ministry.

The Ministry emphasized that new appointments for these positions will be made in due course, with selection criteria focused on authority, integrity, and extensive professional experience. Acting Minister Emil Dechev also noted that 23 of the 28 regional directorates have already seen leadership changes, with the remaining five pending replacement.

Dechev explained that the reshuffles are part of a broader plan to ensure the Ministry of Interior is fully prepared for the upcoming elections. He stressed that even the newly appointed directors of regional directorates are not guaranteed permanence, and any clear violations of the law could result in further replacements.

The acting minister added that he has personally met with some of the dismissed regional directors, while his team held discussions with others. He justified the mass changes by underscoring the need for trust in the leadership of regional directorates to guarantee fair, lawful, and democratic elections.

In addition to the top-level leadership, changes are expected at the level of directors of regional police departments, with a comprehensive review underway. “We began with the highest positions – the chief secretary and deputy chief secretary – moved down to regional directorates, and now we are reviewing the directors of regional police departments,” Dechev stated.

The Ministry indicated that these measures aim to strengthen oversight and maintain confidence in the integrity of election-related work across Bulgaria.