site.btaMovement for Rights and Freedoms Will Not Support New Constitution Or Vote In Favour of Convening Grand National Assembly

Sofia, August 31 (BTA) - The Movement for Rights and Freedoms
(MRF) party will not sign off for a new Bulgarian constitution
or vote in favour of convening a Grand National Assembly. The
MRF position was adopted Monday at an extraordinary meeting of
the MRF's Central Operations Bureau and was made public by its
leader Mustafa Karadayi at a news briefing in the party's
headquarters.

This means that the ruling GERB party cannot secure the 160
votes required for  convening a Grand National Assembly, without
 which a new constitution cannot be adopted.

As he clarified the reasons for the position, Karadayi said: "In
 our opinion, the draft for a new constitution is another blow
against democracy and statehood. The draft for a new
constitution denies the human values of freedom, humanism,
equality, justice and tolerance."

According to Karadayi, the new constitution fails to uphold the
rights of the individuals, their dignity and security.

He was adamant that the draft presented by GERB categorically
fails to live up to the Prime Minister's recent promise for a
''restart of democracy''.

In Karadayi's words, all political forces must approach a new
constitution "with the due responsibility" and it must be
adopted as a new social contract "after serious debates in a
calm, normal and creative political time".

He argued that it is important to hear out the opinion of civil
society, academia and experts, "sensibly, responsibly and with
respect". "A new constitution or changes in the current one must
 eliminate any imperfections identified in the effective
Constitution and seek to establish the rule of law and
strengthen democratic values," he added.

According to Karadayi, such changes should bring the Bulgarian
constitutional model closer to the best international and
European models.
 
On August 17, GERB Floor Leader Daniela Daritkova submitted to
the Registry of Parliament a letter inviting the rest of the
parliamentary parties to attend consultations on an attached
draft of a new constitution of Bulgaria.

The effective Constitution requires a simple majority (i.e. 120
votes) for the passage of a motion to convene a Grand National
Assembly but a two-thirds majority (i.e. 160 votes) is needed
for resolving on elections for a Grand National Assembly.

Under GERB's proposal, the number of MPs is to be halved, from
240 now to 120, and the Grand National Assembly is to be
abolished altogether, while its functions, including amending
the Constitution and adopting a new one, are transferred to the
Ordinary National Assembly. The Supreme Judicial Council is to
be abolished and replaced by a separate Judicial Council of
Prosecutors and a Judicial Council of Judges, empowered to
initiate legislation. The Justice Minister's powers in the
Judiciary are to be limited to proposing budgets of the judicial
 authorities and managing the real estate of the judicial
system. The terms of office of the Prosecutor General and the
presidents of the two Supreme Courts are to be reduced from
seven years now to five years, and their appointment will no
longer be decreed by the President of the Republic, who
otherwise keeps his present powers. NV/DT