Bulgarian prime minister accepts resignations of economy and justice ministers

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said Saturday (June 2nd) that he has accepted the resignations of Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov and Justice Minister Georgi Petkanov, due to an ongoing corruption scandal. Ovcharov is a member of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), while Petkanov belongs to the minor coalition partner NMS-II.

Later the same day, all the members of the BSP’s executive bureau, except for Stanishev, said they would resign because of the party’s disappointing performance in Bulgaria’s first election for European Parliament. The resignations go into effect Sunday. (24 Chasa, Trud – 03/05/07; Mediapool, News.bg, BNR, bTV – 02/05/07)