site.btaConstitutional Court Rules that Appointment of Former Caretaker Economy Minister Petkov, Who Had Dual Citizenship, Violates Constitution

October 27 (BTA) - The Constitutional Court Tuesday ruled that the decree with which President Rumen Radev appointed former Economy Minister Kiril Petkov in Radev's caretaker government was issued in violation of the Constitution as according to the basic law, a minister can only be a Bulgarian citizen while at the time of his appointment Petkov also had Canadian citizenship.

The ruling was passed with 11 votes in favour, with one special opinion concerning the admissibility of the case by Judge Georgi Angelov.

The lawsuit was instituted in mid-August on a petition of 55 MPs of the ex-ruling GERB party. They challenged the constitutionality of the decree by which Radev appointed Petkov in the caretaker cabinet, arguing that by that date he still held Canadian citizenship, which made him incompatible for the office that requires Bulgarian citizens only.

Petkov submitted to the Constitutional Court a certificate showing that he ceased to be a citizen of Canada on August 20, 2021 but claims that his application to renounce that citizenship, dated April 21, 2021, sufficed as evidence that his dual nationality had lapsed by the date of this appointment.

Petkov, who co-chairs the Continue the Change Coalition with another former caretaker minister from the same government, is running in the November 14 parliamentary elections. RY/ZH

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