Политика

On August 17, the previously convened extraordinary session of the Municipal Council continued on the only item "Termination of the powers of the temporary mayor Stoyan Dulev and election of a new one". It was proposed on 16 August by the councilor Atanas Vodev from the NDSV and supported by 16 councilors. At the request of the DPS, its consideration was postponed by one day. The reasons for the requested removal of the interim mayor St. Dulev was highlighted by At. Vodev:
exceeding the powers delegated by the Municipal Council and gross violation of the legality to the detriment of municipal interests; 76 of the Rules, which requires sending all acts of the mayor to the local parliament; unlawful signing of a preliminary performance under the public procurement for the purity with the company "Beev and Beev".
On behalf of the DPS group, Nejat Kehayov said that by signing the contract between the municipality and Beev and Beev, Mr. Dulev has allowed negative consequences for the future of the municipal company Stroycom. But after consulting with lawyers, the MRF believes that this is not a sufficient motive for the removal of the interim mayor, since a systematic default is required by law for more than 3 months. Mr. Kehayov pointed out that they have also received a written opinion from the district administration that under Art. 42, para. 1 of the LMSMA, a qualified majority of 2/3 (20 votes) is required to depose the mayor.
However, the opinion in question was criticised in the subsequent statements, as it does not accurately refer to the case in Velingrad, but only in principle clarifies Art. 42, para. 1. We want to rely on the law and that is why we also held legal consultations, said Ekaterina Kaferinova. She stressed that indeed, the LMSMA requires a qualified majority to depose a mayor, but nowhere in the law is the procedure for interim mayor decreed. It was recalled that Mr. Dulev was elected interim mayor with 17 votes - that is, without a qualified majority and by the logic of Mr. Kehayov he may be illegitimately elected. Mrs. Kaferinova suggested that the Municipal Council should refer to Art. 21, para. 2 of the LMSMA, according to which local parliaments can decide issues of local importance that are not of the exclusive competence of other bodies. The interim mayor is not mandated by the voters, but is appointed by the Municipal Council, and therefore the councillors can say whether they will suspend his powers, and by a simple majority, Ek said. Cafferina.
Alderman Al. Daskalov added that according to oral consultations with the CECMI, when a mayor is elected in majority, he is overthrown by a 2/3 majority, but when he is appointed with powers delegated by the Municipal Council, a simple majority is needed. And Atanas Vodev directly suggested that the interim mayor should not hide behind the law, but to resign, which was accepted with applause from Stroycom workers present in the hall. The Councilor Zavarin Marov made a sharp statement after asking whether Mr. Dulev had already implemented the decisions of the session to terminate the contract with Beev and Beev and to extend the contract with Stroycom and received from the interim mayor an answer that these decisions had not yet come into force. Mr. Marov said that in this situation there is no trust in Mr. Dulev, because tomorrow he can serve a contract for the Beach, for example.
Stoyan Dulev's powers were terminated by 17 votes in favour, given by advisers from a wide political spectrum: BSP, NMS, UDF, BZNS-NS, SDS, Liberal Union, Bulgarian Social Democracy, Roma Party and the independent G. Mikhailov. The councillors from Fidel Beev's Green Party, DPS and BZNS abstained.
The chairman of the Municipal Council, Nejat Kehayov, announced that in his opinion the decision was not adopted because he received 17 votes in favour and he could not sign it. "If you don't want to sign, you resign. I am not calling for this, but for you to observe the law," said Zavarin Marov. Stoyan Dulev thanked for being relieved of the difficult task and said that higher authorities would say whether the decision was legal.
A proposal was then made for the election of a new interim mayor of the municipality. Toma Pachalov proposed the candidacy of Ivan Lebanov - a municipal councilor, a member of the Supreme Court of BSP, an Olympic medalist and respected by the citizens of Velingrad. Mr. Kehayov opposes that a deputy mayor should be elected by law. It turned out that Deputy Mayor Recep Hodzhov and in this vote, as in June, was absent from the hall. However, his candidacy was proclaimed and received only one vote. Then 17 councillors voted for Ivan Lebanov and the other 11 abstained. Mr. Lebanov took the mayoral oath minutes later and after it said that the municipality of Velingrad will work to be of all and not of certain citizens or parties. The councillors also elected a committee on the reception and transmission of the attributes of the mayoral power.
But the next day, the surrender and acceptance of the mayor's office never came to pass. Early in the morning, supporters of ousted mayor Fidel Beev gathered in front of the municipality, disagreeing with the overthrow of Stoyan Dulev. Mr. Dulev himself was not in Velingrad, but was filing a complaint against the decision of the Municipal Council to the acting Regional Governor Yumer Hamza. The decision to remove the interim mayor appeared in two different options, and the work of the elected commission was accompanied by a police presence requested by the secretary of the municipality Janka Petrova (see interview with At. Vodev). The decision of Mr. Hamza was waited all day, which became a fact on August 19 (we publish it separately on p. 3).
Thus, another hot week ended with the return of Stoyan Dulev as interim mayor, and he was quick to announce contests for managers of VKTV and Stroycom and to fire several municipal employees. The answer whether the decisions of the Municipal Council for the overthrow of Stoyan Dulev and the election of Ivan Lebanov are lawful will be expected again by the court.
Elena Baeva