site.btaJustice Minister Hopes Interior Ministry and Prosecution Service Will Cooperate to Crack Down on Vote Buying

July 6 (BTA) - Bulgarian caretaker Justice Minister
Yanaki Stoilov hopes that despite their differences, the
prosecution service and the Interior Ministry will cooperate
effectively for a nosedive in the number of bought votes at the
July 11 early parliamentary elections, compared to previous
elections.

He was apparently referring to a war of words, spearheaded by
Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov, who has argued that
prosecutors, acting on instructions from highly placed
politicians, are sabotaging a police crackdown on vote buying.
The prosecution service reacted, accusing Rashkov of attempting
to influence and interfere with magistrates' work on particular
pre-trial proceedings, which is against the constitutionally
established separation of powers. Earlier on Tuesday, the
Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) issued
 a declaration objecting to what it described as "inadmissible
allegations, negative comments and manipulative insinuations" in
 Rashkov's statements.

Asked at a news conference here on Tuesday whether he would
refer to the Inspectorate with the SJC and the SJC an alert that
 Rashkov said he would submit against prosecutors who have
violated the law and have damaged the prestige of the judiciary,
 Stoilov said he would analyze the alert when Rashkov draws it
up and will determine whether it is admissible.  

The Justice Minister's decision to propose to the SJC to
terminate the credentials of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev
would depend on the content of the alert with which Stoilov
would be approached, he said, replying to another question.

"Good organization of the elections is the top priority in the
coming days," Stoilov said.

Regarding comments by caretaker ministers on the work of judges,
 Stoilov said that the lack of active interaction gives rise to
conflict situations between the executive and the judiciary. The
 Justice Minister recommended that judges and court press
attaches should be more active in communicating with the public.

Earlier in the day, the prosecution service said that it was
working on 24 pre-trial proceedings related to election
irregularities and that 222 case files have already been opened
on alerts from members of the public, the State Agency for
National Security and the Interior Ministry.

Stoilov also said that his Ministry is drafting legislative
amendments intended to use effectively part of the prisoners as
workers, including in agricultural production.

A draft revision of an ordinance implementing the Bulgarian
Citizenship Act will be submitted to public consultation
shortly, the Justice Minister said. It would enable applicants
for acquisition and restoration of Bulgarian citizenship and
Bulgarian citizens wishing to renounce their citizenship to
submit their documents on site at the Justice Ministry. More
than 23,000 bookings for an appointment to receive Bulgarian
citizenship certificates have been made through the automated
system of the Ministry's Bulgarian Citizenship Directorate so
far, and all dates until June 2022 are booked solid. The
procedures are delayed dramatically due to the system's mode of
operation.

Regarding investor citizenship, the Justice Ministry has
requested information from the InvestBulgaria Agency about the
nature of the investments, whether they are genuine and continue
 to exist. RI/DT/LG

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