Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova fired SIS counterintelligence chief Michal Alac on Wednesday, the president’s office announced, after police accused him of conspiracy to abuse power, Reuters reported.

Last week, police charged Alaq and other senior officials in the security community with forming a criminal group and conspiring to interfere with a corruption investigation in a case that arose weeks before the expected election.

Alak said over the weekend that the presumption of innocence should apply and that he saw no reason to resign, Slovak news site dennikn.sk reported.

Kaputova fired Alik on the recommendation of the government, the president’s office said, following a process established by law.

The scandal follows a series of investigations by law enforcement and security services over the past few years, with some institutions investigating each other.

The EU and Nato member country is governed by a caretaker cabinet after the previous ruling coalition was torn apart by internal strife and collapsed following a no-confidence vote in December.

Slovaks will hold early elections on September 30.

The former prime minister accused a “coup d’état”

According to polls, the Smer-SD party, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fizo, is the favorite to win the elections. He promised to end military aid to Ukraine.

Fizo, whose previous government ended in 2018 amid anti-corruption demonstrations following the killing of an investigative journalist, has sharply criticized the charges against Alik and others, saying they were a police coup involving the president.