site.btaParliament Elects SJC Members from Its Quota

Sofia, September 20 (BTA) - The National Assembly elected Wednesday members of the judges and prosecutors colleges of the Supreme Judicial Council from the parliamentary quota.

Six members were elected to the college of judges by a two-thirds parliamentary majority - Dragomir Koyadzhikov, Veronika Imova, Daniela Marinova-Marcheva, Boyan Magdalinchev, Boyan Novanski and Stefan Grozdev.

The college of prosecutors has five new members - Svetlana Boshnakova, Gergana Mutafova, Kalina Chapkunova-Kyuchukova, Plamena Apostolova and Yordan Stoev.

There were a total of 18 candidates for the SJC from the parliamentary quota. According to the Constitution, eleven SJC members are elected by the National Assembly by a majority of at least two thirds. The candidates must be legal professionals with high professional and moral qualities, who have at least 15 years of experience in the field.

The procedure was held because the term of the previous SJC members from Parliament's quota is expiring.

Dragomir Koyadzhikov, who was nominated by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and elected to the college of judges, received the most votes - 228 in favour and one against. Veronika Imova, nominated by GERB, collected 227 votes in her favour and one abstention. Daniela Marinova-Marcheva, also nominated by the Socialists, was elected with 226 votes. Boyan Magdalinchev (GERB) won 213 votes, followed by Boyan Novanski (United Patriots) with 200 votes and Stefan Grozdev (nominated by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF)) with 198 votes in his favour.

The college of prosecutors was filled as follows: Svetlana Boshnakova (BSP) with 224 votes in favour and one abstention, Gergana Mutafova (GERB) with 222 votes in favour and three abstentions, Kalina Chapkunova-Kyuchukova (GERB) with 209 votes and three abstentions, Plamena Apostolova (MRF) with 191 votes and Yordan Stoev (United Patriots) with 184 votes in his favour.

Volya's candidates Angelinka Nikolova and Vladislav Tomov failed to get the minimum of 160 votes.

Prior to the vote, Volya leader and Parliament Deputy Chair Vesselin Mareshki said that the election will probably confirm the information about backstage deals, voicing objections against two candidates - Plamena Apostolova and Yordan Stoev. According to Mareshki, the discussion in Parliament about the election of SJC from the parliamentary quota was insufficient.

BSP for Bulgaria deputy floor leader Kroum Zarkov noted that SJC members nominated by Parliament are not representatives of the political parties that had nominated them.

GERB floor leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that there was maximum transparency during the SJC members' election.