Bulgarian PM to sack key ministers amid anti-graft protests

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on Wednesday asked his finance, economy and interior ministers to step down amid nationwide anti-corruption protests that have rocked the Balkan country for a week. Borissov, who has been in office almost without a break since 2009, said earlier in the day he would decide at the end of the week whether his third government would stay in office until scheduled elections next spring.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on Wednesday asked his finance, economy and interior ministers to step down amid nationwide anti-corruption protests that have rocked the Balkan country for a week.

Borissov, who has been in office almost without a break since 2009, said earlier in the day he would decide at the end of the week whether his third government would stay in office until scheduled elections next spring. Thousands of Bulgarians have called on Borissov and the chief prosecutor to resign over rampant high-level graft that has weakened state institutions and benefited powerful tycoons.

Opposition Socialists, who tendered a no-confidence motion in the government, and President Rumen Radev, a vocal critic of Borissov, have both asked him to step down and open the road to snap polls. Borissov decided to dismiss the ministers to put an end to speculation that they were working in cahoots with the opposition ethnic Turkish MRF party and its senior member, businessman, and media owner Delyan Peevski, his GERB party said in a statement.

"Such speculation is having a negative impact on the party," GERB said in a statement. Political analysts say the dismissals were unlikely to quell public anger and could be a sign that Borissov is streamlining his party lines for the next election.

"With these resignations, Borissov will test if the tensions can be eased, but more likely he is trying to position his GERB party for the next polls," analyst Daniel Smilov, with the independent think tank Centre for Liberal Studies, said. The three ministers will hand in their resignations on Thursday, the government said in a statement.