Bulgaria’s acting chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov has asked for the immunity of ex-prime minister Kiril Petkov, one of the leaders of Change Continues-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), to be lifted over alleged abuse of office back in 2022 when Gerb’s leader and three-times former prime minister Boyko Borissov was arrested.

The request was made the day before President Rumen Radev was due to start consultations with Gerb and CC-DB on the possible formation of a ruling coalition and ahead of the expected start of coalition talks between the two formations.

It also coincides with threats by Magnitsky-sanctioned politician Delyan Peevski, who is believed to have a strong influence on the prosecution, that he would prevent any attempts to form a regular government within this parliament.

Minutes after Sarafov’s request, on December 9, Petkov said he is voluntarily giving up his immunity.

According to Sarafov – believed to be loyal to Borissov and Peevski – in March 2022 Petkov abused his position by ordering the arrest of Borissov, along with Gerb’s PR Sevdelina Arnaudova and ex-finance minister Vladislav Goranov, in violation of law.

Petkov is also accused of voluntarily testifying to investigators on the case without informing the prosecutor in charge of the case.

Sarafov claims that the raids on the homes of Borisov, Arnaudova and Goranov were also in violation of procedures and that Petkov’s instructions to arrest them aimed to harm their reputations.

The prosecution claims in a statement that Petkov’s actions could lead to a prison sentence if found guilty.

“Didn’t you see that you cannot bend us out of fear,” Petkov wrote on Facebook.

He added that this was “a 100% action of Peevski”.

Borislav Gutsanov, an MP from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) – seen as a possible third coalition partner – said that Sarafov’s initiative will “blow up the situation ahead of the negotiations on the cabinet”, and that it was highly disturbing that the prosecution is taking this step more than two years after the arrests.

“Those who do not want to have a government and are in a hurry for new elections benefit from this,” Gutsanov said, referring to Peevski’s calls for the quick dissolution of the current parliament and a new general election.

CC-DB expects that the prosecution will ask for the immunity of more MPs to prevent the adoption of changes to the law on the judiciary.

Meanwhile, CC and DB seem divided over the possible launch of coalition talks with Gerb. Borissov’s party has said it wants to try to form a ruling coalition with CC-DB, the BSP and the populist There Are Such People (ITN) party.

However, CC-DB insists on the signing of a declaration on a ‘sanitary cordon’ around Peevski, which Gerb is refusing to accept. It has instead sent a letter saying that it will not work with Peevski’s faction of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), DPS – New Beginning, or with the party’s other faction, the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS) led by Ahmed Dogan.

Unlike the declaration of CC-DB, which includes also a set of legislative changes to be adopted, Gerb's letter does not envisage any specific steps.

Over the past days, CC and DB seem to have had different opinions on whether coalition talks should be started despite the unsigned declaration. CC insists that such a compromise should not be made, while DB insists that the pro-Western formation should do what it can to prevent a new snap vote — the eighth since spring 2021 — and push forward urgent reforms.

The rift between the two members of the formation seems to be deepening, but they say that the different positions will not lead to their collapse.