site.btaPresident Holds Consultations with Parliamentary Groups on Composition of New Central Election Commission

Sofia, May 5 (BTA) -  On Wednesday, President Rumen Radev began
consultations with the parliamentary groups on the composition
of the new Central Election Commission (CEC). By his decree, the
 President set out the rules for conducting public consultations
 and the procedure for appointing the 15 members of the CEC.

Radev pointed out that actions are being taken in accordance
with the established procedure and the manner determined by the
MPs through the changes in the Election Code that the
legislature adopted last week.

Per the amendments, the CE members are nominated by the
parliamentary groups and the President holds consultations on
the CEC formation - which was previously done by the Parliament
- and appoints the CEC members.

No political force can have a majority in the commission. Those
who do not receive a chair or a secretary spot have a quota for
one deputy chair each.

President Radev reminded his critics a few days ago that this
responsibility does not mean greater power. "We have to make
sure that this CEC has 60 days to work for otherwise we put at
risk order in the election process," Radev noted.

In the new CEC, the GERB-UDF parliamentary group will have four
 representatives, There Is Such a People and the Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP) will have three members each, the Movement
 for Rights and Freedoms and Democratic Bulgaria two members
each and Rise Up! Thugs Out! (RUTO) will have one.

GERB argued that the largest party should nominate the CEC chair
 but not all agreed with that - and even more disagreed when
they put forward the nomination of former deputy interior
minister Krassimir Tsipov for for the post. However, no other
party made a nomination for the CEC chairmanship and the
President said that if Tsipov meets the requirements, he will
get the chairmanship.

GERB's other nominees for CEC members are social analyst and
current CEC spokesperson Dimitar Dimitrov, Georgi Bahanov and
Yordanka Gancheva.

TISP nominated lawyer Kamelia Neykova for CEC deputy chair, as
well as lawyer Elka Todorova-Stoyanova and Prof. Lyubomir
Gavrilov, who is a mathematician with knowledge of the election
technology and process.

BSP has nominated Emil Voynov as CEC deputy chair and Silvia
Stoycheva and Tsvetanka Georgieva as members.

The MRF nominated Sevinch Solakova, a lawyer with many years of
professional legal and administrative experience, as secretary
of the CEC, and Erhan Chaushev as a member of the commission.

Democratic Bulgaria nominated social analyst and former CEC
member Tsvetozar Tomov and Sofia municipal councilor and
mathematician Lyubomir Georgiev.

RUTO has nominated Rositsa Mateva, who now chairs the CEC Public
 Board.

A public hearing of the CEC candidates would take place on May
7.

Earlier on Wednesday, as he handed to BSP the government-forming
 mandate - which they returned immediately - President Radev
announced his decision to form a new CEC at the same time as
dissolving the National Assembly and decreeing new parliamentary
 elections. The decree is expected to be promulgated on May 11
meaning that Bulgaria will likely have snap elections on July
11. NV/DT