The Administrative Court in Bulgaria's Black Sea City of Varna has ruled to reinstate Hristo Bozov as interim Mayor of the city.

The magistrates overturned the decision of the Varna Municipal Council to appoint architect Dimitar Nikolov at the post to replace Bozov. They ruled Nikolov was to quit the job ASAP.

The Court deemed the reshuffle at the Varna City Hall unfounded. It noted their rule is binding immediately, despite any possible appeals.

Bozov recently appealed his dismissal. He filed the claim with the Administrative Court on grounds the law postulates that the interim mayor is to remain in office after a successor, elected by Varna residents, is sworn in.

Legal experts also said that there was no text in the law that included the possibility of replacing an interim mayor.

On April 29, 2013, Bozov was dismissed on the request of a group of municipal councilmen after spending only a month at the post as he took the oath of office on March 27.

The 33 municipal councilmen who logged the declaration against Bozov grounded it on him failing to fulfill his duties.

The initiative was started by Ivan Portnih, who is also a regional coordinator for the centrist Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, and the likely GERB mayoral nomination, and the two deputy chairmen of the Municipal Council, Yanko Stefanov and Vladimir Tonev.

Portnih said then the City Hall needed more radical changes than what Bozov was doing.

The news stirred outrage among representatives of protesting Varna residents who were present in the room. They hissed and shouted demands for the immediate resignation of the entire Municipal Council.

One of them, Mladen Zhivkov, was quoted in saying the municipal councilmen wanted Bozov removed because he interfered with their graft plans as probes ordered by the interim Mayor prevented them from receiving their "brokerage fees."

Bozov hinted that initially he had no plans to run for mayor, but the developments have forced him the change his mind. He stated he was leaving office with a crystal clear conscience.

Architect Dimitar Nikolov was named interim Mayor on April 29.

Fourth-term Mayor, Kiril Yordanov, resigned on March 6, amidst huge protests.

Early mayoral elections in Varna are scheduled for June 30, 2013.

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