“I was left with the feeling that the future caretaker premier is being subjected to enormous, I would even say brutal political pressure not to have me as member of a future caretaker cabinet,” said current caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov after a meeting with the caretaker PM nominee Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva. He described their conversation as “to the point” and “professional” and added that he had presented the analysis and the results of the Interior Ministry’s work over the past year he had been asked for.

• Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva is the new caretaker Premier of Bulgaria

Kalin Stoyanov said he acquainted Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva with the priorities of the ministry, the problems and their possible solution as well as with the road the Interior Ministry should follow so that the process of Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area may be completed. Minister Stoyanov stated further that his own feeling is that there are other people who have been invited for a meeting as candidates for the post he occupies.

During the consultations President Rumen Radev held with the political forces represented in parliament on Thursday, We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria demanded that the next caretaker PM replace Kalin Stoyanov as interior minister because he is not without bias during the organization of elections.

Today, the trade union federation of Interior Ministry staff stated that the insinuations during the past few days of manipulated elections are an indirect accusation and an insult to the 50,000 people working at the ministry.