site.bta Budget for Bulgarian UN Secretary-General Candidate's Election Campaign Amounts to 106,000 Lv

Budget for Bulgarian UN Secretary-General Candidate's Election Campaign Amounts to 106,000 Lv

Sofia, March 21 (BTA) - A budget of 106,000 leva is planned for the election campaign of Irina Bokova, Bulgaria's nominee for UN Secretary-General, said the operational working group coordinating the work on her nomination. The team was presented at the Foreign Ministry on Monday.

All the resources for the election campaign will be controlled very strictly and will be properly accounted for, said Rayko Raychev, General Director of the Foreign Ministry's Global Affairs General Directorate and head of the operational working group.

Raychev recalled that his team held their first meeting in February with Bokova's participation, and they adopted an operational action plan and concept for the election campaign. The relevant instructions have been given to Bulgaria's embassies and permanent representations. A specific person in each embassy will be in charge of Bokova' nomination and observing the process until the elections take place, he explained.

The campaign will have three main phases: the first ends in April, when the first hearing of the candidates by the UN General Assembly is expected to be organized; the second ends in late July, when the UN Security Council should starts reviewing the nominations; the third ends in late September - early October with the election of a new UN Secretary-General.

On the operational working group are 16 senior diplomats, and experts are also expected to participate. Among the members are: Maria Pavlova, Director of the UN and Cooperation for Development Directorate at the Foreign Ministry; Borislav Kostov, Director of the Foreign Ministry's Bilateral Relations General Directorate; Maria Donska, head of the UNESCO Department within the Foreign Ministry's Human Rights Directorate; Maria Spasova, Director of the Human Rights Directorate; and Danail Chakurov, Director of the International Law and EU Law Directorate at the Foreign Ministry.

Raychev recalled that there currently are seven candidates for UN Secretary-General.

On February 9, the Foreign Ministry  sent a letter nominating Irina Georgieva Bokova as Bulgaria's candidate for the post, acting in pursuance of a Council of Ministers' Decision of June 19, 2014. At the moment Bokova is UNESCO Secretary-General.