site.btaProtesters Challenge Legitimacy of Election Processes for Prosecutor General, Supreme Court President

Citizens gathered outside the Palace of Justice to challenge the legitimacy of the ongoing procedures for electing a new prosecutor general and a president of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) here on Wednesday. The event, called "#Who is Regrouping the Prosecutors General," was organized by the Justice for All initiative. An increased police presence in the area was reported.

This is the third event in a series of protests. Organizers said that protests will keep taking place every Wednesday until December 18. They encouraged participants to bring lamps, torches, or candles to "light up the dark corridors and windows of the shadow authorities." Protesters claim that the selection processes for the role of prosecutor general and SAC president are illegitimate because they are conducted by an organization whose mandate has expired.

"We must demonstrate that we do not accept this outrageous process for selecting a prosecutor general, nor the even more outrageous retention of Ivan Cholakov as SAC president, as it blatantly violates the Constitution," said Velislav Velichkov, head of the Justice for All initiative. He added that the recent development this week is that Parliament has been formed but cannot function yet because it cannot elect a chairperson. "We want to meet with the parliamentary groups, but only after a president is elected, to present our demands. Their first task should be to stop the procedures for selecting a prosecutor general and SAC president," Velichkov said.

Only Borislav Sarafov was nominated at the last session of the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on October 10, at which candidates could be named. Sarafov was Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev's deputy until June 16, 2023, when the SJC voted Geshev out of office for undermining the prestige of the judiciary. According to the schedule, the SJC must release the nominees' concepts by November 19, 2024, with the voting set for January 16, 2025.

On November 12, the Judicial College of the SJC appointed current president of SAC, Georgi Cholakov, as acting president of the court from November 22 until the election of a new president. On October 8, the Judges Chamber of the SJC approved the timeline for the procedure to elect a new court president, with voting scheduled for March 20. The term of SAC President Georgi Cholakov ends in late November.