site.btaKrassimira Medarova Asks President to End Procedure for Her Appointment as Caretaker Minister for Elections

Sofia, August 10 (BTA) - Krassimira Medarova has asked President Rosen Plevneliev to stop the procedure for her appointment to the caretaker Cabinet and on Monday will withdraw her request to the Supreme Judicial Council to be released from her position as judge, Medarova writes in an open letter to the media that reached BTA on Sunday.

The move follows a statement on Saturday in which Protest Network opposed Medarova's appointment as Minister without Portfolio in Charge of Elections, which the President decreed on Friday. Protest Network argued that in her previous capacity as Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Medarova failed to ensure the CEC's transparent operation without leaving any doubt about her performance. "The position [of minister in responsible for organizing the October 5 early parliamentary elections] is very important and should be assigned to a person with impeccable reputation and assured professionalism. No compromise should be made," Protest Network insisted.

Medarova chaired the CEC between April 2011 and March 2014 on the quota of the GERB Party. At present, she is a judge at the Sofia Appellate Court.

In her open letter, Medarova points out that she accepted the President's invitation despite her reservations because "I have learnt to respect the institutions and the laws, and I do believe that when your nation's President nominates you for any activity to the benefit of that same nation, you simply cannot say no. At the same time, however, the public response I have been witnessing over the last two days convinced me that taking this office may prove a liability for the caretaker Cabinet and above all cast a doubt on the integrity of the forthcoming parliamentary elections."

"I am clearly aware that this decision of mine will cause certain administrative difficulties, but under the circumstancesmy participation in the caretaker Cabinet will not bring the expected benefits," Medarova writes.

She states that she is not ashamed of her performance as CEC chairperson in recent years and is proud that the dialogue and interaction between the CEC and the representatives of non-governmental organizations started precisely during her tenure.

"I am confident that the presence of civil society will further contribute to a greater transparency and democracy of the election process," the open letter reads further on.

"President Rosen Plevneliev must drop Krassimira Medarova as minister in charge of elections," the Institute for Right Policy argued at a BTA-hosted news conference on Sunday. "It is not about personal invectives: Medarova is not without accomplishments, but a consensual figure has to fill this office so that the caretaker Cabinet could guarantee trust in the election process," the Institute argued. According to the experts, by withdrawing Medarova Plevneliev will demonstrate his own will and the caretaker Cabinet's will that the elections should not be disputed.

"The option of not having a minister in charge of the election arrangements cannot be ruled out after the strong reaction to Krassimira Medarova's nomination," caretaker Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki told journalists later in the day on Sunday.

"We are sensitive to the aspirations of civil society and will therefore reckon with the criticisms levelled at Medarova," Bliznashki pointed out. He said that all experienced people who are knowledgeable about elections have already been CEC members or have been otherwise involved in the process.

"In itself, Medarova's nomination is not bad," the PM commented."Mrs Medarova is an established professional, she coped well with the elections," he said. "When backstage machinations take over, though, the situation is difficult to get under control," he added.