Bulgaria Court to Decide on Removing Plovdiv Mayor

The District Court of Plovdiv is to rule on Monday on a request to remove Mayor Ivan Totev from office.

Totev, who is serving his second term, was indicted last week, with the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office alleging a violation he abused his office and brought BGN 1 M in damages to the municipal authorities.

Rumyana Arnaudova, spokesperson of Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor, said on Friday that if he remained at his post, Totev might use it to exert influence on subordinates (who make up most of the witnesses) as the pretrial proceedings against him are still ongoing.

Plovdiv, the second-biggest city in the country, will become Bulgaria's first European Capital of Culture in 2019.