The party came under fire during the 2020 protests, when it was alleged that first secretary, Aleksandar Paunov, had had a phone call with convicted businessman Vasil Bozhkov. [3] Alexander Paunov went on to admit that the conversation took place, however denied any wrongdoing. [4] This led to Alexander Paunov being asked to leave the BSP for Bulgaria parliamentary group, of which he was a part, becoming an independent MP.