site.btaCC-DB: All Procedural Rules for Selecting Regulators Were Hurriedly Pushed through the Parliamentary Committees

The opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Wednesday warned that all procedural rules for selecting regulators have been hurriedly pushed through the  competent parliamentary committees. CC-DB Deputy Floor Leader Lena Borislavova commented for reporters in Parliament that "it became clear on Tuesday that some of the members of the government coalition are not supportive of what happened while MRF - New Beginning helped pushed the rules for the regulators' selection through two committees. 

The two committees backed setting the nomination window to 7-14 days. A CC-DB proposal that candidates to regulatory institutions should undergo an integrity check, was voted down. 

"If regulators are once again selected with only one candidate and these are prominent political figures, society will have no guarantee or confidence that these regulators will act fairly," Borislavova pointed out. To ensure public trust in those being selected, the process must follow parliamentary rules and be subject to public scrutiny, CC-DB believes. "These regulators are not being elected by the governing majority but by a party that supports it: MRF - New Beginning," Borislavova noted.

"Look at the deadlines, how the procedures will unfold, and how the respective votes will be cast," CC-DB Co-Floor Leader Nikolay Denkov said.

CC-DB will have its own nominations for members of the Supreme Judicial Council. "Wherever we can help to make the right decisions, we will participate," he explained. That is precisely why the shortened deadlines and lack of a timeline are a cause of concern, he added.