Bulgaria's acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev announced in a Facebook post on Monday that he was leaving the Ministry, effective June 8. "Choosing between my position and my principles is impossible. Promising action when I am required to remain silent is impossible as well. I took the message," Kandev wrote. On April 24, he shared a video message on Facebook saying that he had been pressured to step down by people sent to make false testimony against him at the Sofia City Prosecution Office: "Yesterday, I received the message: 'Fall back!' Those who have long relied on silence and obedience are trying the same approach again - with the same words and the same arrogance. Pressure that relies on fear and habit. Not this time!"

Bulgarian National Television reports that Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev is leaving the ministry and that he "has unexpectedly submitted his resignation to the interior minister". The interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev says Kandev pointed to "personal motives" and that he himself was surprised, as at the morning briefing there had been no indication of such a decision. The article notes that in his Facebook post announcing his departure, Kandev wrote that he had been put "to choose between the post and my principles", which for him is impossible, but the piece does not report him explicitly citing political pressure as the reason.

Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kandev is stepping down from his post, he said in a Facebook post on Monday. "Having to choose between my position and my principles is impossible. Promising action when I am required to remain silent is equally impossible. I have understood the message," Kandev wrote. He continued: "I do not want to bear responsibility for decisions I do not make, or for a facade that I do not wish to prop up with my name." Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told reporters that he had been taken by surprise by Kandev's decision and said Kandev had cited personal motives, which the minister declined to disclose.

BTA reports: "Georgi Kandev’s resignation as acting Interior Ministry Secretary General raises many questions, GERB said in a Facebook post on Monday." The party cites Kandev's own words: "Earlier in the day, Kandev said he was leaving the Ministry. 'Choosing between my position and my principles is impossible. Promising action when I am required to remain silent is impossible as well. I understood the message,' he wrote on his official Facebook profile." GERB then asks: "What decisions made by others was the Interior Ministry’s Secretary General expected to implement and be held responsible for? Was there political interference in the work of the Ministry’s highest-ranking professional official, given that the law strictly prohibits such interference? And if there was, where did it come from?"

Bulgarian National Television reports under the headline "Georgi Kandev leaves the Ministry of the Interior: 'Having to choose between the post and my principles is impossible.'" The article cites his Facebook statement: "Promising action where I have to remain silent is just as impossible. I understood the message." BNT then notes the reaction of opposition party GERB, which asks whether there was unlawful political interference in the work of the Ministry's highest professional figure and says Kandev's resignation "raises many questions" about the pressure on him.

The interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev confirmed that Kandev had stated a wish to leave the system, and the stated motives were "only personal." The article also quotes Kandev’s post: "To choose between the post and my principles is impossible," and "I do not want to bear responsibility for decisions I do not make."

Euronews Bulgaria reports that Acting Secretary General of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev is leaving the ministry, announced by himself through his personal Facebook profile. In his post he writes: "To choose between the post and my principles is impossible. To promise actions when I am required to remain silent is also. I understood the message." The interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev is quoted as saying that Kandev filed a request to terminate his relationship with the ministry "at his own will" and that Kandev "indicated reasons of an entirely personal character" which Demerdzhiev says he will not share publicly. The article notes that the opposition party GERB raised questions about the motives for the resignation and possible political pressure on the highest professional leader in the ministry, but frames this as their concern rather than as an established fact.

The report says Kandev left the ministry after posting on Facebook that it was impossible to choose between his post and his principles. It also says Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the resignation surprised him and that Kandev did not state a specific reason for stepping aside.

Bulgaria ON AIR states that Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev has resigned and that in a post on social networks he announced he is leaving the ministry and "did not state specific motives" for his decision, but declared that "to choose between the post and my principles is impossible". Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev is quoted saying he was surprised by the resignation and had not received motives for it. The article reports that GERB expressed concern about his departure and that Ivaylo Mirchev of "Yes, Bulgaria" commented that Kandev "obviously did not have real freedom to act" and "was not left in the post because of the will of the current leadership", but these are presented as political interpretations, not as Kandev’s own explanation of political pressure.

The resignation of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior Georgi Kandev raised serious questions. MP Ivaylo Mirchev commented that from Kandev’s position today "it is clear that he has been put under certain pressure. This comes immediately after the moment when he received enormous public trust." Mirchev also relayed Kandev telling him: "We police officers know what to do, as long as politicians do not interfere with us."

In its media overview of the day, BTA notes that the press is widely discussing the resignation of acting Interior Ministry Secretary General Georgi Kandev. One highlighted commentary says that the "Kandev case is not merely a personnel matter. It is a warning that the Interior Ministry is once again coming under political and behind-the-scenes control," linking his departure to broader concerns about political influence over the Interior Ministry.

Bulgarian National Radio’s Plovdiv outlet reports that Georgi Kandev is leaving the Interior Ministry and that his resignation triggered immediate political reactions. The piece notes that Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev stated he had not been informed in advance of Kandev’s intention and that Kandev had indicated personal reasons for his resignation. The report refers to political commentary and concerns following the resignation, but does not attribute to Kandev a statement that he is leaving specifically due to political pressure.

Vesti.bg profiles senior commissioner Georgi Kandev and notes that the acting Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry announced on 8 June 2026 via social media that he is leaving the ministry. The article writes that in his statement Kandev "hinted at serious pressure and disagreement with the current management of the department", quoting him: "To choose between the post and my principles is impossible. To promise actions when I am required to be silent – also. I understood the message. I do not want to bear responsibility for decisions I do not make and for a facade that I do not want to support with my name." The piece characterizes this as pressure, but it does not quote him explicitly saying he resigned because of political pressure.

Novinite describes an earlier controversy involving Georgi Kandev: "In his statement, he rejected any suggestion that he would resign under pressure. 'I did not accept to be Secretary General to go home. I am not afraid and I will not resign because of an orchestrated attack,' Kandev declared." The article explains that he spoke of "an orchestrated political attack" and claims that individuals had been sent to the prosecution to testify falsely against him, but at that time he insisted he would not step down despite the pressure.

The article quotes Kandev saying: "Today I am leaving the Interior Ministry. Choosing between the post and my principles is impossible. ... I do not want to bear responsibility for decisions I do not make." It presents the departure as an unexpected resignation announced in an emotional Facebook post.

The daily Sega writes that police chief Georgi Kandev has tendered his resignation as Secretary General of the Interior Ministry. It cites his words from Facebook: "For 30 years I have worn the uniform with the conviction that the law is the backbone of the state and that the policeman's task is not to be convenient, but to be useful... I do not want to take responsibility for decisions that I do not make, nor for a facade that I do not want to support with my name." The piece recalls that in late April he complained publicly of attempts to force him out through false accusations, describing this as pressure.

Mediapool reports that the Interior Ministry's chief secretary Georgi Kandev has resigned. It quotes his Facebook message: "Choosing between the post and my principles is impossible. Promising action where I am obliged to remain silent is equally impossible. I understood the message." The article notes that just over a month earlier Kandev spoke of being pressured to resign through false testimony, but that the Interior Minister said Kandev officially gave 'personal reasons' for leaving.

Reporting on Georgi Kandev’s resignation as Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, the article states that he is stepping down because he "cannot compromise his principles" and does not want to be a "facade". It cites his message that he does not want to assume responsibility for decisions he does not make and does not wish his name to support a facade, suggesting a conflict between his professional principles and the circumstances in which he was asked to work.

A February 2026 political briefing on Bulgaria notes that a deep political crisis and repeated early elections have increased political pressure on state institutions, including the Ministry of Interior. While it predates Kandev’s June resignation, it situates the Interior Ministry within a context of heightened political contestation and suggests that top ministry posts are highly exposed to political influence.

An analytical piece on Georgi Kandev’s role observes that whether he remains in office depends on the new government and "the political decisions that follow." It underlines that his position as acting Interior Ministry Secretary General is politically sensitive and that his ability to act depends on the degree of political backing or interference from those in power.

DarikNews covers Kandev's conflict with political figures before his resignation. It reports him as saying in a video address that he was under attack: he described people being sent to the Sofia City Prosecution Office to give false testimony against him and said they were trying "to crush me". At that time, however, he insisted he would not resign because of such pressure and declared he had not become Secretary General in order to "go home".

This earlier report on rmtv.bg describes what it calls an attempt at pressure on Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev by former leaders in the security ministry. It says that, according to Kandev’s own Facebook post, he received several calls from hidden numbers within ten minutes warning him that a man nicknamed "Kartofa" was testifying against him in court and that he received a message "to go home". The article portrays this as an attempt to exert pressure on Kandev, but does not connect it directly to his later resignation nor specify that the pressure was political rather than from individuals linked to the institution.

Discussing Bulgaria’s broader political crisis, this commentary notes that the Interior Ministry has become a focal point in power struggles and that control over its leadership is seen as politically crucial. While it does not mention Georgi Kandev by name, it provides context that changes in top Interior Ministry posts are widely interpreted through the lens of political pressure and control.

In Bulgaria, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior is a politically sensitive, high‑ranking police position formally appointed by presidential decree on the proposal of the Council of Ministers. Acting or caretaker appointments to this role during periods of political crisis or caretaker governments are often scrutinised for signs of political interference or pressure, and resignations from the post are frequently interpreted in domestic media as politically influenced.

Background knowledge indicates that in Bulgaria the position of Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior is formally a professional post but is appointed and dismissed by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the interior minister, and thus is often subject to political considerations. Over the past decade there have been several episodes where interior ministry chiefs or high-ranking officials hinted at "pressure" or conflicts with political leadership in their resignation statements, although they did not always explicitly describe this as political pressure.

Dir.bg reports that Georgi Kandev resigned as Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry and reproduces his Facebook statement that he was put "to choose between the post and my principles" and that he "understood the message" and does not want to be responsible for decisions he does not make or be a facade. The outlet notes political reactions and that opposition figures interpreted his words as a sign of political or behind-the-scenes pressure on the ministry, but the article does not show Kandev explicitly stating that political pressure was the reason he left.

The newspaper "Sega" reports that Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry Georgi Kandev has resigned and that he announced his decision first on Facebook, writing that he had to choose between the post and his principles and that he had understood the message. The article underlines that the interior minister said he was surprised and that the official explanation given to him was personal reasons. It also mentions that parties such as GERB and "Yes, Bulgaria" raised suspicions of political pressure, but this is quoted as their political assessment and not as a statement from Kandev himself about the reason for his resignation.

The report states that the acting chief secretary of the Interior Ministry, Georgi Kandev, resigned and is leaving the security ministry system. It says he announced this in his social-media profile, but it does not attribute the move to political pressure.

Fakti.bg covers Georgi Kandev’s resignation, quoting extensively from his Facebook post in which he says: "To choose between the post and my principles is impossible. To promise actions when I am required to remain silent – also. I understood the message. I do not want to bear responsibility for decisions I do not make and for a facade that I do not want to support with my name." The article stresses that Kandev does not specify concrete motives or explicitly mention political pressure, and then presents opinions from politicians who claim the case shows political or behind-the-scenes control over the Interior Ministry.

The short video indicates that Kandev left the Interior Ministry and that Demerdzhiev wished him success in politics. It suggests a political context to the departure, but the snippet does not provide direct evidence that pressure forced him out.