site.btaMPs Vote State Agency for Technical Operations Chair to Be Elected by Parliament upon Cabinet Proposal

The chairperson of the State Agency for Technical Operations (SATO) will now be elected by the National Assembly upon a proposal from the Council of Ministers, the Parliament decided definitively on Friday.

MPs passed at second reading the amendments to the Special Intelligence Means (SIM) Act related to SATO, with 121 votes in favor and 77 against. Until now, the SATO chairperson was appointed by a presidential decree based on a proposal from the Council of Ministers. The term remains five years.

In addition, the head of the agency responsible for implementing special intelligence means will now be assisted by three deputy chairpersons, who will be appointed by the prime minister. Previously, SATO had only two deputy chairpersons.

With 41 votes in favor, 108 against, and 36 abstentions, the proposal by Vazrazhdane MP Zlatan Zlatanov to have the amendments come into effect one year after the next president and vice president are sworn in was rejected.

GERB-UDF MP Lyuben Dilov stated that the bill clarifies who will bear responsibility for any unlawful actions by the agency, whereas currently it's unclear who is accountable.

Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov explained that he voted against the amendments to the Special Intelligence Means Act because "it gives [Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan] Peevski control over an agency responsible for wiretapping."

Vazrazhdane Deputy Floor Leader Peter Petrov said that his parliamentary group would not support the amendments. He noted that the current procedure, in which the president appoints the SATO head by decree, reflects the president’s role as a balancer between the branches of power — a function that is undermined by the new amendments.

MECh Deputy Floor Leader Nikolay Radulov said that a package of laws is being reviewed in the National Assembly that strips powers from the president, effectively erasing the role of the presidency from the political landscape - at least legally. He added that "the special services are being politicized - something that was very difficult to undo in the 1990s when we worked hard to depoliticize them."