site.btaProsecutors Chamber Proposes Timeline for Election of New Prosecutor General with Voting Set for Jan. 16, 2025

The Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council proposed Monday a timeline whereby a new prosecutor general will be elected on January 16, 2025. The proposal needs to be backed by the Supreme Judicial Council plenum (including also the Judges Chamber), to become effective. 

According to the proposed timeline, the Prosecutors Chamber will be meeting on September 19 and 23, and October 3 and 10 regarding the nominations.

By October 24, the candidates should present their concepts. The Supreme Judicial Council is required to make the concepts public by October 19.

Two Prosecutors Chamber commissions have until November 26 to adopt reports on the professional and personal qualities of the candidates, so as to be able to discuss them at a meeting of the entire college the next day.

On December 5, the SJC plenum will set a time and date for hearing the candidates. The deadline for submitting opinions and questions to the candidates is January 8, 2025.

January 16 is the day for hearing the candidates and voting to elect the new Prosecutor General.

At its Monday meeting, the Prosecutors College also decided to propose to the Plenum that the prosecutor general be electable by no less than 13 votes while the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court be electable by no less than 17 votes. If none of the candidates wins 13 (or 17) votes in the first round of voting, the two candidates who have won the most votes will go to a second round of voting. If neither garners the required number of votes, the procedure will be discontinued and a new one opened.

The reopening of the procedure for the election of a Prosecutor General follows a decision of the Constitutional Court of July 26, 2024.

Bulgaria has had an acting Prosecutor General (Borislav Sarafov) ever since the Ivan Geshev was removed as Prosecutor General in 2023 for undermining the prestige of the judiciary.