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Protests against the Bulgarian government and top prosecutors increase. Yesterday, thousands of people gathered in front of the parliament in the capital Sofia for the largest demonstrations since they started two months ago. People were already at the scene at 8 a.m. and the first clashes with the police occurred at 10 a.m.
Stones, firecrackers, bottles, eggs and garbage were thrown into the parliament building. The protesters claim that the country’s government and top prosecutors have allowed corruption and that oligarchs are taking power in the country. Both Prime Minister Bojko Borisov and prosecutor Ivan Geshev deny the allegations.
The president asks the government to resign
Both police and protesters used pepper spray and at least 45 people, including protesters, police officers and journalists, were able to seek medical attention after the clashes. About 60 people were arrested.
The leader of the opposition, Rumen Radev, reiterated his demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Bojko Borisov. Borisov has promised to resign if parliament approves his demand for a new constitution, but Radev rejects the plans.
“It was not the lack of a new constitution that brought people to the streets, but the lack of morality in the leadership, the erosion of the state and corruption,” he said.
Reject changes
The new constitution, among other things, would cut the number of members of parliament in half and give the country’s courts greater independence in relation to political leadership, according to the news site The Sofia Globe.
Protesters and the opposition have rejected the proposal as a way to try to extend Borisov’s term as prime minister, as the vote on the constitution can take place in November at the earliest.
