site.btaUPDATED Supreme Court of Cassation to Rule on BSP Changes Registration

The Supreme Court of Cassation will rule as soon as possible on the registration of changes in the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) into the public register of political parties. The case was held on Monday, it was initiated on the appeal of BSP ex-member Krum Donchev.

Earlier on Monday, BSP ex-members Ivan Chenchev and Georgi Svilensky submitted over 4,000 signatures on behalf of the BSP to the Central Election Commission (CEC) for registration in the October 27 early parliamentary elections.  

On September 1, the BSP National Council voted to expel former BSP leader Korneliya Ninova, Georgi Svilenski, Ivan Chenchev and Krum Donchev from the party.

On July 10, the Sofia City Court said that it has struck off Korneliya Ninova as Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader and representative of the party. BSP is now represented by its deputy chair and acting leader Atanas Zafirov. The court refused to enter Zafirov as the party leader until a BSP congress elects Ninova's successor.

The BSP will run in the upcoming elections for the 51st National Assembly in a coalition "BSP - United Left", the party's Executive Bureau said in a position sent to the media. The legitimate leadership of the BSP will proceed with the registration of the coalition for participation in the early parliamentary elections as soon as the Supreme Court of Cassation, after its session on Monday, announces its decision on the registration of Atanas Zafirov as acting chairman of the BSP, the party's acting leadership said. According to the statement, BSP expects the CEC to reject the registration based on the documents submitted by Georgi Svilenski and Ivan Chenchev because they do not represent the party.

"The documents for registration of BSP submitted today to the CEC by Svilenski and Chenchev - persons who are no longer members of the BSP, representing Korneliya Ninova, who is no longer either chair or member of the BSP, with a petition that was not collected by the legitimate local structures of the party, is an attempt to deliberately harm both the BSP and the broad left coalition. This is being done in the interests of forces that do not want to see a strong left in Bulgaria", the BSP Executive Bureau said.