site.btaPresident Seeks Top Court's View on Early Elections, Care-taker Government

President Seeks Top Court's View on Early Elections, Care-taker Government

Sofia, November 14 (BTA) - Bulgaria's outgoing president Rosen Plevneliev has petitioned the country's Constitutional Court to determine if he has the authority in the last three months of his term to call general elections without dissolving Parliament, the press office of the head of state said.

The head of state is petitioning the country's top court in order to avoid controversial interpretations of the Constitution and prevent a vacuum in the constitutional system.

Under Article 99, Paragraph 7 of the Constitution, in case no agreement can be reached in Parliament on the formation of a government or in case the Cabinet has resigned, "the President may not dissolve the National Assembly during a period of three months preceding the expiry of his term of office. Should Parliament be unable to form a government during any such period, the President shall appoint a caretaker cabinet."

There have been distinctly different interpretations in the public domain and in the legal community of how the process should unfold pursuant to Article 99, Paragraph 7.

According to one interpretation, in the last three months of his mandate, the President cannot dissolve Parliament and cannot call early elections and only has the authority to put together a care-taker government.

Another interpretation holds that in the last three months of his mandate, the President cannot dissolve Parliament but can appoint a care-taker government and call elections within two months.