site.btaJudicial Council Has No New Prosecutor General Nominee at Last but One Meeting

105 JUDICIARY - MEETING - amplified

Judicial Council Has
No New Prosecutor General Nominee
at Last but One Meeting

July 25 (BTA) - The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) did not name a second candidate for prosecutor general at its last but one meeting on Thursday. Justice Minister Danail Kirilov can still nominate a candidate at the last meeting on July 29. However, he stated earlier this year that he would not participate in the nomination procedure unless it was flawed.

On Monday, Deputy Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev was nominated as the first candidate by all 11 members of the SJC Prosecutors Chamber, including the incumbent, Sotir Tsatsarov, whose term expires in January 2020.

In a bTV interview on Tuesday, SJC representative member Boyan Magdalinchev expressed doubts that the prosecutors would put forward a second candidate after their unanimous decision.

The SJC will meet on October 9 to decide which candidates are eligible, and the new prosecutor general will be elected on October 24.

The SJC Prosecutors Chamber issued a position paper warning of attempted political interference in the procedure for electing the next Prosecutor General and in the independence of the judicial system.

The warning came after the Yes, Bulgaria! party and its leader and former justice minister Hristo Ivanov, as well as a citizens' initiative organization called Justice for All, urged the Prosecutors Chamber to withdraw Geshev's nomination for Prosecutor General, to name another candidate, and to institute disciplinary proceedings against Geshev in his current capacity as Deputy Prosecutor General in connection with remarks he made in a televised interview.

The Prosecutors Chamber said in its position paper that the declaration, the open letter and the protest initiated by Yes, Bulgaria! against a concrete nominee for Prosecutor General violated democratic values and the rule of law.

The Chamber vowed that the election procedure will be implemented in accordance with the law and its members will not yield to political pressure, regardless of whether it is exerted by the ruling majority or the opposition.

Meanwhile, several hundred people blocked the street in front of the SJC building. Police officers were stationed there to keep public order. A counterprotest in favour of Geshev's bid for Prosecutor General was held in the same area. LY/DD/VE
//