site.btaBulgaria's Presidential Institution: Functions and Powers

November 23 (Lyubomir Gigov of BTA) - According to the current Bulgarian Constitution of 1991, the President of the Republic is "the head of State" who "embodies the unity of the nation" (which is often misinterpreted as "unifier of the nation"). Bulgaria is one of the few parliamentary countries with a directly elected head of State. Since both President and Parliament are elected by popular vote, the former enjoys a democratic legitimacy on a par with the latter. On the other hand, few presidential powers are discretionary (except in a cabinet crisis or another national emergency). The presidential institution in Bulgaria is therefore described as "the most representative and the least powerful" one in the system of government.

The President and the Constitutional Court are the only two institutions under the Constitution that do not belong to any of the three branches of government. Still, the President has a role to play in all three while being equidistant from each, and thus guarantees and complements the separation of powers in a checks-and-balances type of interaction. The head of State functions as an exponent of "neutral" power, intermediating and balancing among the political institutions so as to ensure the normal operation of the constitutional system.

The functions of the presidential institution can be divided into three groups: traditional, arbitrator, and national security and defence.

Traditional Functions

These include ceremonial appearances, receiving foreign envoys' letters of credence and of recall, addressing the nation and the National Assembly, briefing Parliament on key issues within his or her powers, conferring orders and medals on Bulgarian citizens and foreigners, naming places of national importance and settlements, and endorsing changes in the boundaries and capitals of the local administrative units on a motion by the Council of Ministers.

The presidential institution is empowered to arbitrate in all three branches of government.

Legislature

In this branch, while having no right to initiate legislation (with the important exception of revisions of the Constitution), the President can block a bill from becoming a law by refusing to decree its gazetting (which must normally follow within 15 days of its adoption). In this case, Parliament is bound to reconsider such draft legislation and needs a majority of more than a half of all 240 MPs to override this suspensory veto. Alternatively, the head of State may petition the Constitutional Court to establish unconstitutionality of a particular act passed by the National Assembly. The President is empowered to schedule parliamentary and local elections and by-elections. He or she may propose to Parliament a national referendum and must appoint a date for its conduct within a month from the promulgation of the relevant National Assembly resolution. The head of State must convene a newly elected National Assembly to its first sitting within one month after its election and as soon as the Central Election Commission promulgates the name list of the new MPs. The President can also request the convocation of a parliamentary sitting at any time.

Executive

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic of a hybrid type (like Austria, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Macedonia), and the President lacks direct executive authority. In this branch of government, the head of State shares his or her competences with the Council of Ministers, but most presidential decrees have to be countersigned by the Prime Minister or by the government minister concerned. The holder of the top job in the land focuses on strategic issues concerning national security and international relations, in which he or she represents the State. The President has the right to conclude international treaties after coordination with the Government and decrees the appointment and dismissal of Bulgaria's ambassadors and permanent representatives to international governmental organizations on a proposal by the Council of Ministers.

The President has a crucial role in the inception of each new government, mandating a prime minister-designate nominated by the numerically largest parliamentary group to form a cabinet. If the third such attempt fails, the head of State must appoint a caretaker cabinet (which is accountable only to him or her), dissolve Parliament (except within the three last months of his or her term), and schedule early parliamentary elections within two months. During such a period, the President practically governs the country.

The President of the Republic appoints: four of the twelve Constitutional Court judges (one-third); the Central Election Commission (on a proposal by the parties and coalitions represented in Parliament); three of the seven members of the Governing Board of the Bulgarian National Bank; two of the five members of the Council for Electronic Media; one of the five members of the Communications Regulation Commission; and four of the nine members of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination.

Judiciary

In this branch of government, the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Prosecutor General are appointed and released by the President of the Republic on a proposal by the Supreme Judicial Council Plenum. The President may not refuse to decree any such appointment or dismissal on a second proposal. The head of State exercises the power of pardon, exempting a convicted offender from the full or partial implementation of a penal sanction imposed by the court for a committed offence, and can forgive uncollectible state receivables. The President has the right to decree the acquisition, resumption, release from, and deprivation of, Bulgarian citizenship, and to grant asylum to persons who are persecuted for reasons of their convictions or activities in defence of internationally recognized rights and freedoms.

National Security and Defence

The head of State performs important functions in this sphere. He or she heads the Consultative Council on National Security. As Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Armed Forces in both peacetime and wartime, the President is empowered to appoint and discharge the highest command personnel of the Armed Forces and to award the highest military ranks, acting on a recommendation by the Council of Ministers. The Chief of Defence, the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, the Chairpersons of the State Agency for National Security and of the State Intelligence Agency and the Director of the Military Intelligence Service are appointed and dismissed by the head of State on a proposal by the Cabinet. The President is vested with powers to declare a state of war if Bulgaria comes under an armed attack or in order to urgently honour international commitments, to declare a state of martial law or another state of emergency in all or part of the national territory when the National Assembly is not sitting and to propose such declaration to Parliament when it is sitting and, acting on a motion by the Cabinet, to order a general or partial mobilization, to raise the combat and operational alert status of all or part of the Armed Forces, and to endorse the strategic action plans of the Armed Forces. In case of a military conflict or war, he or she is also competent to declare a state of war if Bulgaria comes under an armed attack or in order to urgently honour international commitments, to coordinate the foreign-policy efforts for cessation of the conflict or war through participation in international security organizations and structures, to form and head the Supreme Command, and to propose the conclusion of peace to the National Assembly. The President exercises overall guidance and control over the operation of the National Service for Protection and appoints its Chief and Deputy Chiefs after consultation with the Council of Ministers.

Vice President

While the Constitution does not vest separate powers in the Vice President, it enables the President to devolve on him or her few but important powers: to appoint certain civil servants specified by law and to handle matters concerning Bulgarian citizenship, asylum and pardon. The Vice President cannot stand in for the President when absent but will complete a President's term if the incumbent resigns, is durably incapacitated due to a severe illness, is impeached, or dies. If both the President and Vice President are unable to perform their functions, their prerogatives will pass to the Chairperson of the National Assembly until a new holder of the office is elected.

The head of State is limited to two five-year terms. Traditionally, the winner of p