20221 | 5 Nov. 2025 | 22:51
Bogdana Panayotova stirs up yet another crisis in the administration of the capital, forcing mayor Vasil Terziev to publicly demand her resignation.
From hope to disappointment.
The choice of a new chief architect for the capital is always accompanied by high expectations for vision and order.
This was promised by architect Bogdana Panayotova after being appointed permanently to the position in April 2025 - she publicly stated that she would take measures against overbuilding; initiate a procedure to change the General Development Plan; and also promised a management program that would be implemented by May. Now it is November, and such a program still does not exist.
There is no information that any procedure has started to change the General Development Plan, which Panayotova herself cited as the main reason for the issues with overbuilding.
No specific legislative texts have been presented, which Panayotova has insisted since the beginning of the year, that they must be adopted in order to regulate the city's construction.
Thus, the hope for the new vision of the city, "one that grows, but does not age", quickly transformed into an administrative burden, which pushed the management of the capital towards chaos.
How did we get to this point and why did a position that was supposed to be constructive become a source of tension?
Appointment under the shadow of doubt
The first problem started even before Arch. Panayotova officially took office. Her appointment was marked by scandal, as in political and professional circles "it was known from the very beginning" that she would take the post, which raised serious questions about the fairness of the competition.
Warnings about her candidacy came from various sources, including the political partners of Mayor Vasil Terziev - "We Continue the Change" and "Save Sofia". However, the mayor relied "hastily" on a person with a reputation compromised by questionable cases related to public tenders; a person capable of backdoor deals, who has proven their inability to work in a team, even as an acting chief architect. Even the dozens of publications and journalistic investigations that revealed fragments of her biography did not prevent her from taking this position. Because Terziev stood firmly behind her and even broke the coalition to appoint her despite all warnings that she is not suitable for this important position.
Thus, a future conflict in the capital municipality was already predicted, which has now erupted.
Conflict as a management style.
"My goal is to create a platform for maximum correct and easier implementation of laws and regulatory framework in order to improve the procedures for facilitating the construction-investment process, in order to achieve better results for the city and all participants," said architect Panayotova, becoming Chief Architect of Sofia.
Today, Mayor Terziev gives his categorical assessment of the work of his former favorite: "The dialogue with her is exhausted! Panayotova's resignation is a difficult but necessary step. With the architect, the co-operation is impossible. Panayotova has different views on how this organization should look like and what should be the role of the main architect in it". This sounds like a slap, like a hit with a gong, from which there is no turning back.
The truth is that Panayotova's mandate quickly unleashed her "destructive potential", as they say in the municipality. Instead of uniting, she entered into open conflict with key groups for the development of the city, turning her management into a series of confrontations - with investors, administration, industry organizations and media.
Eng. Georgi Shopov, Chairman of NASP, publicly stated in his interviews that he is denied any access to the administration of the capital. Hundreds of projects are delayed due to administrative service, blocked by Panayotova herself. Dozens of letters are still pending without a solution.
Instead of creating professionally with a team of specialists who have long worked at NAG, she stood against them with the motive that this team should "obey her by right", consciously undermining the institutional expertise. Her statements about "serious and ambitious plans", which she hoped would "find quick realization and the results would be visible very soon", have vanished.
Instead of expectations for "comprehensive easing of administrative practices and procedures", a command-administrative approach was adopted.
The culmination of this approach was the clash with the mayor of the "Lozenets" district, Konstantin Pavlov, accompanied by threats that he will "hand him over to the prosecutor's office". This was not just an administrative dispute, but a direct political attack that struck off the "politically achieved victories" of the coalition supporting Mayor Terziev.
The promise that turned into a trap
The most dramatic moment turned out to be a publicly made promise. During the final round of the competition for chief architect, Mayor Vasil Terziev asks a direct question to the openly favored by him Panayotova: "When would you submit your resignation?" Her answer at the time sounded categorical and now comes back as a boomerang: "When I lose the trust of the mayor of Sofia, when you, Mr. Terziev, ask for my resignation."
This was a classic political trap set by the mayor himself, and today the trap snapped. The moment that Panayotova herself defined as the limit has come. The request for her resignation is no longer simply a political move, but the only possible act to save the capital from lawlessness and chaos.
A lesson in dignity or another administrative battle in Sofia municipality?
Sofia needs drive, vision, and discipline in execution, said Terziev today, probably realizing the damage he has caused to the city by backing someone without "drive, vision, and discipline in execution".
Thus, one of the most important positions in managing Sofia has become the epicenter of tension and paralysis.
As a wise saying goes, "to fall from high places is not so scary if you are a person with dignity and honesty".
Whether we will see such an act, remains to be seen.
For now, the answer is: "I am not considering resignation, under any circumstances! I am a state employee appointed through competition. "I am not a politician to be asked for my resignation. Isn't it frivolous for someone to demand your resignation without any reasons during a public competition under the Civil Servants Act and other special laws?
It sounds like a joke. And the crisis will only deepen."
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