site.btaContinue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria Present Draft Declaration on Resolving Political Crisis

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Monday presented a draft declaration on ending the political crisis in Bulgaria. The coalition has sent it to all MPs of the 50th National Assembly and to the media.

Earlier on Monday, CC-DB asked President Rumen Radev to give them three months before handing them the second government-forming mandate so that they could seek broad support for a package of legal changes to enhance the fight against corruption. CC-DB met with Radev at their request to discuss the current political situation. 

The draft declaration calls for support for the adoption of seven legislative initiatives and resolutions, which are said to be "a necessary precondition for starting talks on a government with broad anti-corruption support" in this Parliament: honest and transparent election of members of the anti-corruption commission by at least 160 MPs, based on rules approved by the European Commission so as to guarantee an effective fight against corruption; a new Judicial System Act based on the principles laid down in the Justice Ministry's bill; amendments to the whistle-blowers protection law; amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure curbing the misuse of special surveillance means; adoption of an Individual Bankruptcy Act; election of a new ombudsman; and launching a reform in the security services by introducing an integrity test as the first step.

CC-DB argues that the MPs of the 50th National Assembly are faced with a national, not partisan, task. The declaration claims that the Bulgarians' distrust of the political process stems from an acute sense of injustice caused by a lack of equality before the law and a persistent refusal of the institutions to counter the abuse of power.

The draft document says the parliamentary republic can be stabilized only after the systemic preconditions for unpunished political corruption and illegitimate influence on law enforcement bodies and regulators are eliminated. CC-DB also says that completing the key stages of anti-corruption and judicial reform is crucial to resolving the country's deep political crisis.