Bulgarian authority dismisses chief prosecutor amid anger over failure to tackle corruption

The Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev, has fired the country’s chief prosecutor, Ivan Geshev, due to public dissatisfaction with his handling of high-level corruption cases, according to the presidential press office.

Radev issued a decree removing Geshev from his position following a vote for “undermining the prestige of the judiciary” by the Supreme Judicial Council, which cited his comment during a press conference where he called for the removal of “political trash” from Parliament. Despite having extensive authority to oversee prosecutors, Geshev faced criticism and protests for allegedly protecting corrupt politicians and businessmen instead of holding them accountable.

He was appointed in 2019 as the only candidate, with speculation that his selection was due to political support from the then ruling GERB party. However, his recent dismissal comes after an agreement between GERB and their main political opponent, the reformist We Continue the Change party, who strongly criticized Geshev’s actions. This makes him the first prosecutor-general in Bulgaria’s post-communist era to be officially removed from this influential position, which some analysts view as a victory for civil society.