site.btaIvan Geshev Is Elected Prosecutor General

116 HOME AFFAIRS - PROSECUTOR GENERAL – ELECTION updated

Ivan Geshev Is Elected Prosecutor General

Sofia, October 24 (BTA) – The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Thursday elected Ivan Geshev to become Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General. He was supported by a wide majority of 20 members of the SJC with only four voting against him.  Coming to replace Sotir Tsatsarov, whose tenure expires in January, the name of the new Prosecutor General is no surprise as he was the only candidate for the job.

The election followed a hearing of the candidate which started at 10 in the morning and lasted nine hours. During that time he had to answer over 100 questions by professional organizations and the SJC members.

The hearing was held on the backdrop of protests against the only candidate and the procedure for his election, as well as a counter-protest in his support.

Only one step remains before he steps in office: President Rumen Radev has to decide whether or not to decree his appointment.

Geshev: "I know of no political oligarchic circles supporting me"

During the SJC hearing, Ivan Geshev, said he knows of no political oligarchic circles supporting him. He was answering a question about whether he knows any oligarchs.

Taking another question, he said he does not violate Bulgarian laws and the Constitution when he speaks to the media in a personal capacity instead of a professional one.

Geshev argued that the prosecuting magistracy should not be taken out of the judiciary. He told the SJC members that there are politically involved persons at the prosecution office who are unfair towards the judiciary. In his words, Bulgarians have no reason to be ashamed of the judiciary. If the relations between institutions have worsened, results cannot be achieved when they do not talk to each other, he noted.

Asked why he agreed to be nominated for prosecutor general and how his nomination came to be, Geshev said there is no other procedure so transparent and public as the one for the election of prosecutor general. He described himself as a person who would not accept to be given conditions or to set conditions.

Commenting on the protests in central Sofia against his election, Geshev apologized to those who could not get to their destination because of him.

Asked by Supreme Court of Cassation President Lozan Panov how he differentiates between biased and unbiased media, Geshev said he judged them by their true or untrue reports. Panov's next question was how the candidate would thank outgoing Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov for his help and support, to which Geshev replied that he had been nominated by the entire Prosecutors Chamber and thanked all of its members for their trust.
Lozan Panov was among those who voted against Geshev. The other three were Olga Kerelska, Krasimir Shekerdjiev and Atanaska Disheva. One SJC member had taken a leave and didn’t vote.

Under the Constitution, the President appoints the Prosecutor General on a proposal by the SJC Plenum for a single seven-year term without the option of a second term. The President cannot refuse to appoint or relieve the Prosecutor General on a repeat proposal.

The new Prosecutor General must take office no later than January 10, 2020, when Tsatsarov's term expires. RY/DS,DD/LN