site.btaSupreme Court of Cassation President Drops from List of Persons Given to President to Choose Caretaker PM, Parliament Votes on Second Reading

With the second of three readings on the constitutional amendments, Parliament decided Tuesday that the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) president will not be among the list of persons from which the President can choose a caretaker Prime Minister. The edit was proposed by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria MP Nadezhda Yordanova.

The editorial amendment was adopted by 166 votes to 15, with no abstentions. In the text that was adopted, it was stipulated that "a caretaker prime minister shall be appointed from among the National Assembly chair, the governor or sub-governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the president and deputy president of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, and the ombudsman or his deputy".

The main task of the caretaker government will be to organize fair and free elections. Limitations to the powers of the caretaker government may also be laid down by law, the adopted provisions state.

According to the current texts of the Constitution, "if no agreement is reached on the formation of a government, the President shall appoint a caretaker government, dissolve the National Assembly and schedule new elections. The act by which the President dissolves the National Assembly shall also set the date for the election of a new National Assembly". The texts, adopted on second reading on Tuesday, delete the words "dissolves the National Assembly" and add "a two-month period" for scheduling elections for a new National Assembly.

Under the Constitution and according to the procedural rules for amending it, the bill of amendment should be discussed and adopted by three votes on different days.