Prime Minister Denkov’s Request for Dismissal of SANS Chief Unanswered

Jerusalem, 5 November, 2023 (TPS) -- SOFIA (BTA)
Prime Minister Nikolay Denov said that he still hasn’t received an answer to his request for dismissal of State Agency for National Security chief Plamen Tonchev.

He declined further comment and said that the question will be raised after the elections.

Denkov requested from President Rumen Radev to dismiss Tonchev, after his lost trust in the Agency leadership over a report which resulted in the ban of machine voting in the first round of the local elections. The Prime Minister said that this undermined the election process.

Asked whether he may also request the resignation of Deputy e-Government Minister Mihail Stoynov for downloading the hash code on a memory stick, Denkov said: „Currently we have elections and the Ministry has commitments. No one touches an institution when it has such responsibilities.”

Prime Minister Denkov spoke of his upcoming visit to Israel. „If the conflict escalates, this may have global consequences. It is important that the right balance is found. The hostages should be freed and the risk of terrorist attacks by Hamas should be reduced, but at the same time a humanitarian crisis should be avoided. Both sides should be heard,” he said.