site.btaConstitutional Court Declines President's Petition to Determine whether He Can Schedule New Parliamentary Elections without Dissolving Parliament

Constitutional Court Declines President's Petition to Determine whether He Can Schedule New Parliamentary Elections without Dissolving Parliament

Sofia, November 22 (BTA) - Sitting on Tuesday, Bulgaria's Constitutional Court declined a November 14, 2016 petition by President Rosen Plevneliev to make a binding interpretation of a provision of the Constitution, determining whether the head of State may schedule new parliamentary elections within the last three months of his term in office without dissolving the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court said on its Internet site on Tuesday.

The petitioner's reasons for raising this question is to avoid a conflicting interpretation of the Constitution and prevent a void in the constitutional system.

In its ruling, the Court states that, just as an incumbent president may not schedule elections without dissolving Parliament, a president whose term expires within three months cannot do so, either, because he is not empowered to dissolve the National Assembly. There is no void in the constitutional framework because setting a date for the elections is inextricably connected to the dissolution of the National Assembly (both actions must be taken by one and the same act of the head of State), which the president may not do within the last three months of his term.

The dissolution of the National Assembly and the ensuing new parliamentary elections that must take place within two months thereafter are actions excluded from the powers of a president within his last three months in office but are among the foremost and urgent responsibilities of the newly elected president once he takes office, the Court ruled.

Judges Keti Markova and Anastas Anastassov signed the ruling with a dissenting opinion. Judge Filip Dimitrov appended an opinion to the reasons.