2020 Bulgarian protests


The 2020 Bulgarian protests are a series of ongoing demonstrations that are being held in Bulgaria, mainly in the capital Sofia, as well as some cities outside of Bulgaria such as London. The demonstrations were triggered on 9 July 2020 when the Presidency of Bulgaria was raided by police and prosecutors as a result of a long-lasting conflict between the prime minister Boyko Borisov and the president Rumen Radev.

Background

Corruption

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his populist conservative GERB party have been in power since 2009, with a one-year interruption in 2013, when his government lost power following similar protests. Borisov's cabinets have seen persistent corruption in all branches of government; a 2017 assessment of the United States Department of State described the presence of selective justice and a lack of judicial independence. The report stated that Bulgarian government officials were engaging in bribery, procurement violations and embezzlement with impunity. Bulgaria has consistently ranked as the most corrupt European Union member in the Corruption Perceptions Index, and has remained last in 2019, ranking 74th globally. As a result of corruption and oligarchic rule, Foreign direct investment collapsed from 28% of GDP in 2008 to a largely remittance-based 2% of GDP in 2018.
This has been complemented by a steep decline in media freedom. Bulgaria dropped from 59th to 111th globally in the Press Freedom Index between 2008 and 2019, the lowest score of any EU member or candidate state; Reporters Without Borders reported worsening harassment of journalists and continuing government control over the media through financial means, including EU funding. The organisation expressed particular concern over the Borisov government's candidate for Chief Prosecutor, Ivan Geshev, who had made scathing remarks about media which were "not to his liking". Former US ambassador to Bulgaria, James Pardew, said in 2019 that a "political environment with little government or criminal accountability and no serious opposition to challenge the current government" is in place in Bulgaria. Pardew further named Delyan Peevski as a "media kingpin" with a virtual monopoly on private media in Bulgaria, controlling as much as 80% of the local market.

Institutional war

Following the defeat of GERB's candidate for President in the 2016 Bulgarian presidential election, Bulgarian Air Force general Rumen Radev was elected to the mostly ceremonial post of President of Bulgaria. Radev, an independent, was nonetheless backed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party - Bulgaria's largest opposition party. Radev frequently criticised the prime minister over what he alleged was corruption, mismanagement and authoritarianism inherent in Borisov's rule. Consequently, Radev frequently vetoed legislative proposals by GERB and vocally opposed Borisov's government. In turn, Borisov accused Radev of sabotaging the government's work, dividing the nation and compromising his independence in favour of the opposition. Bulgaria's parliamentarist constitution holds the Prime Minister responsible to the National Assembly instead of the President and allows for the parliament to overrule presidential vetoes via a simple majority. As such, Borisov was able to maintain power in the country despite the president's objections and criticisms, as the latter lacked any legal mechanism to sack or seriously obstruct the government.
This inter-institutional conflict escalated significantly in late 2019, as the President attempted to block the appointment of Ivan Geshev to the post of Chief Prosecutor. Radev cited Geshev's nomination by the Supreme Judicial Council, a procedure where Geshev was the sole candidate. However, the Supreme Judicial Council constitutionally forced President to accept Geshev as Chief Prosecutor, which Radev reluctantly did after noting that further refusals could amount to a violation of the constitution. The newly appointed Chief Prosecutor released what he described as wiretaps of the president shortly thereafter, which allegedly implicated him in criminal activities. Radev, who was at this point criticising Borisov over the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, strongly rejected the allegations and accused the Prime Minister of having the nation's security service illegally spy on him and fabricate evidence.

Cause of protests

Alleged photographs and voice recordings of the Prime Minister

Shortly before the start of the protests, photographs emerged that purported to show what appeared to be Prime Minister Borisov laying half-naked on a bed, next to a nightstand featuring a handgun and stacks of euro banknotes. Borisov confirmed that the room in which the photos were taken was his, but denied the gun and money, stating that the images could have been manipulated. Borisov accused President Radev of flying a consumer drone into his residence in order to take the picture. He also accused former Ombudswoman Maya Manolova, TV star Slavi Trifonov and his own former second in command Tsvetan Tsvetanov of involvement in a plot to take photos of him while he was sleeping, in a "KGB-Style" kompromat operation. Radev condemned the leaks and called it an "insane" invasion of the prime minister's privacy. He added that he owns a drone, but that the accusation that he personally piloted it into the prime minister's residence to take pictures was part of Borisov's "fantasy and paranoia".
Around that time controversial voice recordings were leaked on the Internet. The voice in the recordings insults a member of the National Assembly Tsveta Karayancheva and European leaders and strongly resembles the voice of the Prime Minister Borisov. On 24 July, socialist MEP Elena Yoncheva stated that American experts had allegedly proven the authenticity of the recoding. EU Parliament head David Sassoli stated that Yoncheva had pledged to provide the findings to Belgian police.

Scandal with National Security Service guards

One of the events that provoked a strong public reaction was an action of activists of Yes, Bulgaria!, broadcast live on social media. The activists, led by Hristo Ivanov, reached a coastal beach in front of the residence of Bulgarian oligarch Ahmed Dogan, located near the port of Rosenets in Burgas by boat. Their purpose was to check whether the regime of exclusive state ownership of the surrounding beach is actually observed and whether as such it is accessible to Bulgarian citizens. There they were intercepted by security guards, which pushed them out, insisted that the beach was privately owned and called the police, which assisted them.
The activists subsequently called on the president and the prime minister to identify whether the anonymous security guards were National Security Service employees. Party representatives also called on the prosecutor's office to launch an investigation against Ahmed Dogan for violating the constitution and state property law.
In an address to the nation the following day, President Radev revealed that the guards were, in fact, employees of the National Security Service, which is only mandated to protect state leaders, which Ahmed Dogan is not. Radev called on the leadership of the NSS to cease protection duties of Ahmed Dogan and Delyan Peevski, who is also under protection by the Service. GERB also wants urgent penalties in the NSO. In this situation, GERB and the United Patriots introduce amendments to the Law on NGOs, according to which the appointment of security guards by the service should become the responsibility of the head of the service.

Incursion of the public prosecutors into the presidency

The next day, representatives of the General Prosecutor entered the presidency, carrying out search and seizure operations with heavily armed officers from the General Prosecutor's Office. They also made demonstrative arrests of officials from the presidential administration. At the same time, General Prosecutor Ivan Geshev told the media his indifference to the incident on the beach, where the national flag was trampled. This happened against the background of the suspicious inaction of the prosecutor's office towards scandalous audio recordings and photos leaked to the media, related to corruption deal in which Prime Minister Borisov may be involved. The name of the General Prosecutor is also mixed up in the corruption scandal "Eight Dwarfs", which erupted at the same time, related to senior magistrates, with which the American ambassador to the country is personally acquainted. Eventually, all of this provoked a spontaneous protest in front of the presidency.

Timeline

9 July - Protests begin

The protests began on 9 July 2020. They set as their goal the removal of Borisov's cabinet and the resignation of Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev. They are encouraged by President Rumen Radev, who has called for the expulsion of the mafia from the executive and the judiciary, as well as EU member states to express a position on the situation in the country, which is growing into a constitutional crisis. However, the prime minister and the chief prosecutor refused to resign. The prosecutors' board and members of the government oppose the resignation of the chief prosecutor and the prime minister.

10 July - The President's address; Borisov calls for counter-protests

Thousands of protesters blocked the center of the capital for the second night in a row. At 5:27 pm the Head of the National Security Service, Gen. Krassimir Stanchev resigned. This comes hours after he was asked to do so by President Rumen Radev after a series of scandals in which the service was involved in guarding the summer residence of honorary DPS leader Ahmed Dogan. Earlier, Stanchev's resignation was demanded by Democratic Bulgaria.
About an hour and a half after the protests began President Rumen Radev told protesters in front of the presidency that "the protest against the mafia is turning into a campaign and there is no force to stop us." Radev called on the protesters not to be divided into left and right, Russophiles and Russophobes, Americanophiles and Americanophobes, Europhiles and Europhobes, Bulgarians and Turks, and not to repeat the mistakes of the 2013 protests. He ended his speech with the call "Mafia - out".
With calls to defend "Bulgaria's legitimately elected government", GERB party members urged party supporters to take part in a counter-protest in front of the Council of Ministers. At 7 pm, the protest in front of the Council of Ministers of GERB members in support of the government began. The Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria Tsveta Karayancheva, the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Denitsa Sacheva and GERB MPs Toma Bikov and Alexander Nenkov came to the square in front of the Council of Ministers building. "No one has the right to insult us, the voters of GERB, by calling us mafiots." said Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria Tsveta Karayancheva. At 8 pm, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov also appeared before the counter-protesters. He commented on the government's success in joining ERM II starting Bulgaria's path to the Eurozone. Borisov was greeted with applause. A few minutes later, he returned to the building, along with all the government ministers. After Prime Minister Borissov's speech, GERB supporters began to disperse, while there was a significant crowd of police around the protesters on the side of the presidency. Protesters against the government blocked traffic on Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. between Orlov Most and Sofia University. Another group separated and tried to wait and block the buses with GERB supporters. However, the police did everything possible to avoid mixing the two groups.

11 July

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev addressed the nation in a television speech broadcast across the country, in which he endorsed the protests and called for the resignations of both Chief Prosecutor Geshev and the entire Bulgarian government. Bulgarian police arrested 18 people amid clashes in an otherwise peaceful protest.

12 July

Bulgarian emigrants living in London joined the protests and gathered peacefully outside the Bulgarian embassy in the United Kingdom, expressing their greivances to Bulgaria's ambassador to the country.

14 July - Prosecution announces wiretaps of opposition MP

Thousands of protesters blocked traffic in downtown Sofia as a small group of pro-government counter-demonstrators, whom the protesters accused of being bussed in by the government, were placed just 50 meters across from the main demostrators by police. Several groups of anti-government activists reportedly organized raids against the pro-government buses.
The National Representation of Student Councils in Bulgaria accused pro-government police forces of illegally beating protesting students and demanded the resignations of police officers found responsible.
Chief Prosecutor Geshev released a series of wiretaps that he stated were collected by the State Agency for National Security. He alleged that the tapes proved that Aleksandar Paunov, Communist Party of Bulgaria leader and opposition MP, held a conversation with Vasil Bozhkov, a Bulgarian exile wanted by the prosecution. He further accused President Radev of "supporting fugitives from justice". Paunov confirmed that he had a conversation with Bozhkov, but denied any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, he left the socialist parliamentary group to avoid associating it with Bozhkov and discrediting the protests, continuing his mandate as an independent politician. The Union of Democratic Forces called on the prosecution to ban the communist party entirely, stating that it had supported the protests and "contributed to the destabilization of the country". They also expressed a desire to see all communist parties in the country banned.

15 July

A very large protest took place in the centre of Sofia, with turnout so big, that the demonstration stretched across several of the city's largest boulevards. The protests were peaceful throughout the day, but tensions escalated after 22:30 as young men attempted to break into the parliament's office building and threw fireworks, bottles, stones and red paint at the police, resulting in six arrests.
The opposition socialist party introduced a motion of no confidence against Borisov's government in parliament, accusing it of collaborating with the Bulgarian mafia. Meanwhile, President Radev called for further peaceful protests, but cautioned participants to avoid provocations that could be used to 'sow discord' among the protesters.
Borisov issued his first concession to the protesters by asking his ministers for finance, the economy and the interior to resign after police violence was documented during the protests. Nevertheless, the ruling party excluded the possibility of early elections. The majority of protesters rejected these concessions and vowed to keep protesting until the entire government resigns.

16 July - Refusal of Resignation

Both Chief Prosecutor Geshev and Prime Minister Borisov made statements refusing to hand in their resignations and vowing to remain in power until the final day of their term. That same day, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria, Bulgaria's largest labour union, officially endorsed the protests.
President Radev once again addressed the nation, rejecting the government's concessions and stating that no cabinet reshuffle could save the current government.
The protest on 16 July was stated to be the largest thus far, as the demonstrations spread to Bulgaria's smaller towns. The protest movement also saw demonstrations outside of the country, as student organizations and immigrant communities organized solidarity protests in London, Manchester, Berlin, Cologne, The Hague, Brussels, Copenhagen and other cities.
Prime Minister Borisov once again rejected calls for early elections, stating that his resignation would "break the country". Political analysts writing for New Europe stated that the government could expect to survive the no-confidence motion tabled for the following week, as the coalition government MPs had enough votes to reject the motion and keep the government in power at least until the next scheduled election in 2021. He also announced that he was withdrawing his previous concession of demanding the resignations of three of his ministers - stating that neither he, nor his ministers would resign.
The protests continued late into the night. After several smoke bombs were thrown into the square, the protestors formed a human chain to prevent provocateurs from committing violent acts. The policemen guarding the demonstrators removed their riot shields in gratitude to the protesters.

17 July

Protesters gathered for the ninth day in a row to protest against the government. In addition to the usual protest sites, rallies were also held in Lovech, Kyustendil, Vratsa and Haskovo. Besides the protest at the city centre, protesters also gathered in front of the building of the Bulgarian National Television and demanded the resignation of its Director General, Emil Koshlukov.
National Assembly Chairwoman and leading GERB figure Tsveta Karayancheva made a statement in which she stated that holding early elections would be pointless, as she opined GERB would simply win again and form another government. She added that her party could not trust Radev in the formation of a caretaker government, as the previous such government in Bulgaria's recent history "sent shivers down her spine". She also accused President Radev of intentionally dividing Bulgarian society.

18 July

At the end of the tenth day rally, protest leaders called on Bulgarians to begin civil disobedience and "besiege" all buildings belonging to the government, as well as those buildings belonging to state or municipal institutions, at 7 am on Monday, 20 July. This coincided with the parliamentary session in which the assembly was due to vote on the motion of no confidence brought by the socialists, which was expected to fail as pro-government MPs retained a majority in the chamber.

19 July

The daily protests were joined by the first foreign rally in Nuremberg, organized by a 25 year old lawyer and Bulgarian expatriate in Germany. The Bulgarian National Radio noted that anti-Borisov protests had also began occuring in Berlin, Paris and Barcelona, having been organized by communities of Bulgarian emigrants.

20 July - Blocking of the metro system; Attempted dissolution of "Revival"

Protesters blocked the National Assembly building and also briefly blocked the city's metro system as the parliamentary debate around the opposition's no-confidence motion began in the assembly.
Sofia's Prosecution authority stated that it was seeking to ban and dissolve Vazrazhdane, an extra-parliamentary party that had strongly supported the protests. The prosecution alleged that it had found "invalid data" among the party's documents, concluding that the party had been formed illegally. The party's leader stated that he was not surprised and believed that the DANS had been working on a "political order" to incriminate Vazrazhdane on false evidence for months by that point.
The three ministers whose resignation Borisov had offered to the protesters earlier in the week all confirmed that they would not be resigning and would continue serving in their current positions. IMRO leader and Minister of Defence Krasimir Karakachanov stated that he expected no major upcoming changes in the government's composition. Police forces began to look for ways to limit protesters' access to the city centre, as some protesters brought up the idea of not only surrounding the national assembly, but also occupying it. Though Bulgaria's Interior Ministry has refused to publish data on the amount of protesters, Balkan Insight stated that estimates suggested that at least 50,000 people were protesting concurrently each night by that point. Separately, police forces detained a former parliamentarian, accusing him of aiding the protesters in briefly blocking the metro system earlier that day alongside two accomplices.
Socialist leader Korneliya Ninova accused the government of attempting to ban a traditional annual meeting at Buzludzha that marks the anniversary of the party's founding in 1891. She further accused mayors and functionaries belonging to the ruling party of allegedly threatening transport companies by telling them that they would never again receive government contracts if they agree to transport any socialists or their supporters to the meeting. Ninova stated that due to what she described as "the dictatorship's" attempt to ban the Buzludzha rally, the socialist party would instead hold its rally on the "yellow pavement" in Sofia's city centre. Shortly thereafter, the government's health minister denied that he wanted to ban the meeting and announced that the socialists would be allowed to hold their rally in Buzludzha.

21 July - Failure of no confidence motion

The Socialists' motion of no confidence in the nation's parliament ended in defeat as it gained the support of 102 MPs, while 121 MPs of the ruling coalition voted against. Protesters reacted negatively, chanting "Resign" and "Jail", whilst vowing to continue their demonstrations until both Borisov and the Chief Prosecutor resign.
A group of protesters attempted to besiege PM Borisov in Sofia Airport as he arrived from meetings with the European Union with the intention of not allowing him to leave until he agreed to resign. Their attempt failed, as the Prime Minister had already left the airport by the time they arrived.
Revival leader Kostadin Kostadinov complained of what he dubbed "brutal political repression", stating that members of his party were summoned to police interrogations after the prosecution announced its intention to have the party dissolved the previous day.

22 July - "Yes, Bulgaria!" appeals to the Government

, the leader of Yes, Bulgaria! announced that he had petitioned not only the supreme judicial council, but also PM Borisov to order his justice minister to fire Chief Prosecutor Geshev - making him the first leader of an opposition party to negotiate with the government. He stated that he was "engaging" Borisov in front of the whole nation to order the justice minister to dismiss Geshev as a first step toward constitutional changes that he would like to propose in Bulgaria.
Two weeks after the protests began, protesters again rallied in Sofia's city centre, blocking seven major boulevards, as well as several bus and tram lines for several hours. Demonstrators threw flat caps at the Palace of Justice and toilet paper at the Council of Ministers building. The protesters chanted their refusal to accept minor concessions and insisted on the resignation of the entire government as well as the chief prosecutor. Protests also took place in cities and towns across Bulgaria, with smaller anti-government rallies being held for the first time in Sliven, Pazardzhik, Ruse and Yambol.
A major Bulgarian news outlet revealed that Chief Prosecutor Geshev had went into paid vacation since 20 July. The prosecution's press office stated that he had taken a vacation in order to "work on the stategic priorities of the prosecution", adding that Geshev "worked best when he was resting".
The prosecution authority announced that it had brought charges against another former parliamentarian and current advisor in the field of energy policy to President Radev. It accused him of complicity in the brief blocking of Sofia's metro system three days prior. The other former parliamentarian arrested a couple of days prior was also charged with the same indictment.

23 July - Government reshuffle

Having faced increasing pressure from street protests, the ruling coalition decided to replace four government ministers. The ministers for tourism and the economy were replaced by their deputies, the minister of the interior was replaced by a high-ranking police officer, while the minister of healthcare switched positions to become minister of finance, his former post to be taken up by the head of a Sofia hospital.
The opposition parties rejected the replacements as an "imitation of change" and a "joke", contining their calls for the resignation of the entire government and early elections.
The protesters were not satisfied with the cabinet reshuffle and anti-government protests spread across Bulgaria's major cities.
President Radev addressed the demonstrators, accusing the government of being "deaf" to protesters' demands and once again insisting on the resignations of the entire government and the chief prosecutor. He called for further protests, opining that the protest movement would be the 'beginning of the end' of the "corrupt model " and expressed his support for early parliamentary elections and changes to Bulgaria's constitution.

24 July - BNT interview incident

Bulgaria's Chief prosecution authority demanded that Hristo Ivanov apologise for "misleading the prime minister" in his 22 July appeal to Borisov, in which he asked for the Chief Prosecutor's dismissal. It alleges that he made false statements in his report, thus defaming the chief prosecutor.
A large truck that was supposed to provide technical and audio equipment for the daily protest in Sofia was stopped by Bulgarian police outside the city. One of the protest's organizers stated that the truck was stopped and had its registration plates removed by police officers that offered no explanation for their actions, thus rendering the vehicle unroadworthy and unable to enter the city. The traffic police department stated that officers had stopped the 12-tonne truck during a "routine check" and discovered four different road law violations, issuing three fines. It stated that the truck was hence banned from Bulgaria's roads for the time being. Nevertheless, after the police left, the truck was driven into the city without any license plates. It arrived at the protest site at around 20:00.
The protesters took to blocking the capital's roads, blocking ten of the city's largest crossroads and demanding the resignations of the government, chief prosecutor, BNT's director general and the Mayor of Sofia. The resulting traffic jam led to a road rage incident in which an angry car driver rammed his car through the protesters in an attempt to pierce the road block. This resulted in a 19 year old female demonstrator recieving minor injuries, though nobody was seriously hurt. In response, some protesting groups threatened to blockade the country's highways.
A video recording emerged of a group of demonstrators co-organized by Yes, Bulgaria! and the "FIGHTER" association spilling trash bins onto the street and throwing beer bottles in an attempt to occupy the Bulgarian National Television building, where a debate was held between GERB's Parliamentary chief Daniela Daritkova and socialist leader Korneliya Ninova. The group had apparently refused to take part in the general protests and besieged the TV headquarters, leading to police intervention. Ninova later stated that the protesters had allowed her to leave by foot, whereas Daritkova was held longer until freed by police. Police authorities stated that both Daritkova and Ninova had refused police protection, while the crowd began to throw bottles and cans when it saw figures emerging from the building, necessitating a police response. They stated that Ninova left by foot, while Daritkova was blocked by protesters in her car, leading the police to break up the protest in order to allow her to leave. It was later revealed that the refusal of the two representatives to accept police protection violated police protocols, causing Ninova to issue a public apology to the police officers involved.
The town of Karlovo saw its first protest as anti-government demonstrations became more commonplace outside of Sofia.

25 July - Socialist Rally

By noon, protesters had blocked the Ruse-Varna and Ruse-Kubrat intercity roads, accusing the government of abandoning the roadside infrastructure and expressing a lack of faith in the country's institutions. In an attempt to avoid road rage incidents, demonstrators took to giving apology fliers to every car stuck in traffic near the protest site.
The Socialist Party defied the government by holding their annual anniversary demonstration in the centre of Sofia instead of on mount Buzludzha. Around 10,000 socialists arrived from across the country to the capital, where they paraded trough the city and demanded the government's resignation. At the rally socialist leader Korneliya Ninova alleged that the government had attempted to bribe key socialist politicians in order to "break the left" during the protests, but stated that the plot had failed as the socialists had refused to "sell themselves".
The daily evening protest in Sofia was mostly cut short by a major thunderstorm, though some demonstrators stayed and threw tomatoes at government buildings. Protest organizers cautioned demonstrators to avoid hitting policemen with the tomatoes and instead only target the buildings. Separately, residents of the Manastirski Livadi neighbourhood marched to the residence of the Mayor of Sofia and GERB member Yordanka Fandakova and demanded her resignation after she allegedly privatized a plot of land that was supposed to be earmarked for a municipal kindergarden.
Demonstrators in Varna took to briefly blocking the city's major intersections, while in Ruse protesters covered the ruling party's local headquarters in protest slogans. 50 members of a "citizens' committee" also declared that they would be launching a hunger strike in protest against the government.

26 July

Bulgarian expartiates in the Australian city of Melbourne organized a rally in support of the protest movement and demanded the government's resignation. Smaller rallies were also organized in various cities in the United States, while the London protests had become a daily occurence for two weeks in a row.

27 July - Government announces new concessions

Protesters announced that they would be holding a nationwide general strike on 29 July. The nation's trade unions announced support for the movement, but stated that they would not be officially joining the strike, as only 20% of the unions' leaders had announced a readiness to go on strike. Demonstrators also organized a mock "wish-writing contest" in front of the Bulgarian National Bank, as the date marked Bulgarian oligarch Delyan Peevski's birthday.
GERB MP Spas Garnevski gave a public interview before state television in which he accused those wanting early elections of committing "national treason". He opined that he saw three groups of protesters: the first seeking to "commit a coup d'état to overthrow the government and install President Radev", the second made up from "marginal parties" supported by "ultra hooligans seeking to spill blood" and the third - young people that "don't know what they want".
After a meeting with the ruling coalition, PM Borisov publicly announced a 2 billion lev stimulus package, slated to be transferred to retirees, the unemployed, paramedics and business leaders in an attempt to placate the protesters.
By evening, the government announced another concession - the GERB majority in Burgas' city council agreed to vote in favour of an opposition-sponsored resolution and void the April city council decision to privatize the public road that leads to the coastline and DPS Chairman Ahmed Dogan's mansion at Rosenets and sell it to a company linked to Dogan. The lack of public access to the coastline was one of the reasons that contributed to the start of the protests.
Despite both the government concessions and a rainstorm that had erupted over the capital, protests nevertheless continued. Most protesters rejected the government's "social package", calling it a "mockery" and asserting that the government's plan to give a one-time 50-lev pension boost to retired citizens would "neither help a retiree, nor give him a future". In response, several groups of protesters announced that they would be forming an "initiative committee" that would coordinate the various groups protesting against the government in a bid to further unify the protest movement. Meanwhile, anti-Borisov demonstrators in Germany took to a campaign of writing letters en masse to all the deputies of the German Bundestag. They hoped that they would be able to cut off support for Borisov by Germany by pressuring the ruling CDU/CSU, fellow EPP member and close ally to Borisov's party, to distance itself from him. In addition, the protesters took the decision to begin protesting in front of the CDU/CSU headquarters daily until their goal is reached.
Protesters in Sofia marched to the European Commission representation office in the country, demanding that the EU administration take note of the protests. Anti-government protests also erupted in many smaller towns across the country. During that day's protests, the result of an investigation into police brutality on July 10th were made public - revealing that at the investigation found that police had used "excessive force" and "violated the fundamental rights of the citizens" during the incident. In response undefined "disciplinary measures" were announced by the Ministry of the Interior.

28 July

Representatives of the tourism industry and tour operator companies joined the protests in front of the Council of Ministers, demanding that the adoption a crisis plan to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic that had decimated tourism in the country.

29 July - New Audio Recording leak; Socialist Party leaves parliament

A scandalous audio recording once again leaked on the internet. In the recording, which was likely made in the autumn of 2018, a voice, strongly resembling that of PM Borisov and a second, resembling that of Tomislav Donchev, discuss previous protests and President Radev using very crude language. The voice resembling Borisov's states that "knowledge can only be given to a smart person, a dumb person can only take a dick", adding that dumb people are to be dealt with by "poisoning, fucking their mothers" and "giving them a dick". It then goes on to say that these "dumb people" are the ones in charge of the protest. It then mocks President Radev, calling him a "simple pilot" that is "one of many" and asserting that "the pilots of the civil aviation are a hundred times better pilots", concluding that the President should "fuck his own mother's pussy".
Meanwhile, protesters gathered earlier than usual across Sofia and blocked several key intersections in the city. An angry driver drove trough a group of demonstrators that had set up a road block, which led to his car being surrounded and climbed on by protesters before a police intervention.
The Socialist Party's parliamentary faction yelled "Resign!" at government MPs and then demonstratively left the nation's parliament mid-session, after their demand to have the prime minister arrive at the assembly to answer questions was denied. The GERB-appointed Parliamentary Chairman ordered disciplinary punishments against the socialist MPs and motioned to have the session be continued without them.

Protests grow; border checkpoints blocked

The protests deepened, as protesters accross the country poured in amid calls for nationwide protests. A large crowd gathered in central Sofia to protest against the government, drawing between 100,000 and 120,000 demonstrators, thus marking the largest anti-government gathering in Sofia so far. Democratic Bulgaria and Revival party members took out the flags of their political parties, which some protesters condemned and attemped to take down, resulting in a verbal altrecation that ultimately led to a minor police intervention. In another incident, protesters threw bottles at Volya leader Veselin Mareshki at around 18:00 local time, after he stated before state television that the protests had been "corrupted by crazies". An hour later, the protests were joined by former Ombudswoman Maya Manolova. By 22:00, the citywide roadblocks increased in number to a total of 20, which in turn led to a number of altrecations with angry drivers that were caught in traffic. Some of the protesters took the decision to set up tents as part of a more permanent sit-in, vowing not to leave the city's central square until the government resigns.
Protesters from Kazanlak and Stara Zagora organized a car-based protest with a few hundred vehicles, with which they blocked the highway between the two cities. Road blocks were also put up in the city Plovdiv, while near Ruse anti-government demonstrators blocked the border checkpoint at the danube Bridge that marks the border between Bulgaria and neighbouring Romania.

30 July - Supreme Court Ruling

Protesters set up tents and makeshift camps on key intersections, thus creating permanent roadblocks that blocked several of Sofia's major boulevards and forced over a dozen lines of the city's public transport system to be rerouted. To this end, groups of demonstrators heeded calls from protest organizers to "sleep under the windows of power". Police forces were mobilized and shortly thereafter and the Chief of Police announced that five intersections had been cleared of protests following "negotiatons".
The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria unanimously ruled that Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev was not permitted under the nation's constitution to investigate, wiretap or indict the country's President due to the legal immunity the constitution provides him.
The IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement, a coalition partner of the government, came out with an official statement in which it stated that it would continue supporting the Borisov-led government, so long as it "ended the excess tolerance and liberality" shown towards Bulgaria's Romani minority and "took measures end the Ziganization of Bulgaria". This came after an IMRO village mayor was hospitalized after getting into a fight with Romani.
At evening, President Radev addressed the media. He commented on the audio leaks released the previous day and opined that they showed "a clear sign of who is behind the discreditation campaign waged against the presidential institution", adding that "in his panicked attempts to save himself, the prime minister is taking his party and all of his fellow partymen down with him". Radev concluded by once more asking for the resignations of both the government and chief prosecutor, declaring that "there was no other exit" out of the situation. He then stated that he was ready with a caretaker government to replace Borisov's cabinet, as he deemed the process to have become irreversible.
PM Borisov expressed his disagreement via a video he uploaded to Facebook, in which he claimed that the "enemies of natural gas diversification" were the ones protesting.
The roadblocks became permanent as tent camps emerged on various boulevards to man the roadblocks overnight, merging with other protesters by day to march around the city and throw tomatoes and eggs at the Council of Ministers building.

31 July - Parliamentary session ends; National Assembly moves

On the 23rd consecutive day of protests, the National Assembly officialy ended its parliamentary session and went into recess until September. The government declared that there would be no extraordinary sessions called during summer, despite a veto enacted by President Radev against a law that had recently been passed that would nominally require the parliament to reconsider the law no more than 15 days after the veto. The government coalition stated that it would not count the days during recess for the purpose of the 15-day reconsideration requirement.
Unexpectedly, the government also issued an announcement delivered by the Minister for the Environment alongside Valeri Simeonov, the leader of NFSB - one of Borisov's coalition partners. The government announced that following the recess, the national assembly would move to a new building - a brand new extention it had built to the former headquarters of the now-defunct Bulgarian Communist Party. The new wing of the building was equipped with special sound insulation to prevent assemblymen from hearing noises from the protest, separated the press area from the assembly floor to prevent journalists from having direct access to the parliamentarians and provided auxilliary exits from the building to MPs.
The Deputy Chief of Police announced that the roadblocks in Sofia were illegal and would be removed by police. He stated that police forces hoped to convince the protesters to take them down trough closed-door negotiations, adding that the police would "raise its tone", as he opined that the current situation represented a "gross violation of public order".
One of the protest organizers alleged that he was "seriously offered money " to "pack up his stall and leave", which he stated he rejected outright.
As protests continued, demonstrators from Stara Zagora attempted to leave the city and block the Trakia motorway, but had their vehicles blocked by police cars, while a group of Gendarmes arrived ready to disperse the demonstrators. The latter decided to leave their cars behind and walk to the motorway on foot, but were stopped by the Gendarmes present. Protesters appealed to the policemen, but the gendarmes stood their ground and did not permit them to pass.

Reactions

Opinion polls

StatementAlready attended anti-Borisov protestWould attend anti-Borisov protestWould attend pro-Borisov counter-protestAlready attended pro-Borisov counter-protestSource
Would you attend a protest?6%36%8%2%

International organizations

- On 14 July the European Commission expressed its support to the demonstrators right to protest.
- On the fifth day of the protests, the US Embassy in Bulgaria backed the demands of the protesting people, stating that "nobody is above the law".

Domestic

Medics and commentators have expressed concerns that the protests will contribute to a further rise in the number of infections due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria, with actions such as loud speaking identified as significantly more likely to generate a higher number of virus-containing droplets. Infectiologist Atanas Mangarov, whose views have been criticized by many of his colleagues within the field of medicine, has claimed that the protests could be potentially beneficial in the long-term due to herd immunity bringing the pandemic to a halt. On 1 August 2020, it was revealed that there has been a sharp increase in the positive tests for COVID-19 among police officers in Sofia.