site.btaDeputy Chair of Sofia Municipal Council Resigns after Attempting to Take Down Ukrainian Flag from City Hall

The Deputy Chair of the Sofia Municipal Council, Borislav Ivanov, has handed in his resignation after coming under pressure to do so for attempting to take down the Ukrainian flag from the building of the City Hall on October 12. The resignation was first announced in a Facebook post by Municipal Council Chair Georgi Georgiev (GERB), who had asked Ivanov to come down.

Ivanov was elected to the local Parliament as a candidate of the nationalist Ataka party but recently disowned the party and pledged allegiance to another nationalist party, Vazrazhdane.

Ivanov entered the City Hall with a balaclava, broke into the Mayor's Office and tried to take down a Ukrainian flag that was put on the building's facade by a decision of the Municipal Council.

Ivanov chaired the Municipal Council's public order committee.

The decision to display a Ukrainian flag on the City Hall facade was made by the Municipal Council on April 7 on 36-14 votes. The Socialist council members challenged the decision before the Regional Governor who took the matter to court. On April 21, the Municipal Council reconfirmed its decision and the flag was put up on the City Hall facade. On May 5, Vazrazhdane took it down but it was returned later the same day. Ivanov's October 12 attempt to take down the Ukrainian flag was the second one.

Georgiev said that the entire flag stunt was a grand opening of Vazrazhdane's campaign for the 2023 local elections.