Maribor - The supervisory board of the electricity distributor Elektro Maribor has rejected the allegations that its members had been pressurised by politics to dismiss the long-time chairman Boris Sovič. "The decision was made solely on the basis of facts," chief supervisor Samo Iršič told the press on Monday.

Citing the corporate governance policy, Iršič said the "supervisory board cannot and must not disclose new facts. However, we can say that no pressure was put on any of the members of the supervisory board, be it political or any other."

He said that the decision was made on the basis of the facts listed in the dismissal announcement last Thursday. It was said that Sovič had been dismissed due to delays in the achievement of business goals, inadequate preparation for the green transformation, poor oversight of subsidiaries, and loss of trust.

Answering a reporter's question, Iršič confirmed that Sovič had been dismissed for business reasons and that he was no longer employed at Elektro Maribor. He said that the reasons "would be probably revealed by certain institutions in the future."

"We wish the new management of Elektro Maribor to perform its tasks efficiently, successfully and for the benefit of all users, employees and, ultimately, owners," he added as Jože Hebar was presented to the press today as interim chairman.

The previous chief supervisor said measures to eliminate certain shortcomings were already being implemented, and noted that the focus was on users, who "expect innovativeness, expediency, excellence and preparedness for green transformation."

He said that he had worked in the telecoms incumbent Telekom Slovenije and in an Austrian-owned company. "I'm not a member of any political party, I am interested in the profession, I am an expert," he added.

Sovič, whose dismissal is the third major staffing decision in state-owned energy firms in two weeks, rejected all arguments for his dismissal in a statement last Friday.

The ex-Social Democrat (SD) mayor of Maribor who served as the company's chairman since 2012, believes the move was politically motivated and the decision taken before the reasons for it were made known.

"There are no justified reasons to terminate the management's term because the company has operated successfully over the past few years," he said, assessing that the dismissal was a "politically motivated decision".