There is an organised campaign against candidates for senior magistrate positions

- Mr. Tsekov, how would you comment on the raging crisis regarding the election of a constitutional judge?
- It all began with a series of blunders on the part of the Government. During the public hearing of the candidates, a signal, although questionable since it might be anonymous, was ‘swept under the carpet’ so to say instead of being discussed. This created prerequisites for a public controversy. After all, the role of a public hearing is that all signals made known to the public are to be either denied or confirmed in order to discard any doubts about the reputation of the candidate. This was not done and, hence, public polemics and a reaction from the European Commission followed like an avalanche. The thing which turned the situation into an institutional crisis was the reaction of President Rosen Plevneliev who enveloped a political act of his into an unconstitutional form. The Head of State did not obey the decision of the National Assembly for the nomination of a constitutional judge and went beyond his constitutional powers. The claim that the action of the President is justifiable from a moral and political point of view cannot be upheld when it comes down to observing the Constitution. The President has other options to voice his appraisal of Veneta Markovska which he didn’t take advantage of.

- The scandal continued with the nomination of Petar Stoyanov on behalf of UDF (Union of Democratic Forces). It turned out that this has not been approved by the parliamentary group of UDF. What will the outcome of this new crisis be?
- These nominations for a judge of the Constitutional Court began to look like a vaudeville. Regretfully, a respected person like Petar Stoyanov who was Bulgaria’s Head of State has been involved in this maelstrom. Obviously, he does not enjoy the support of the parliamentary group of the party he belongs to. The way the Government tried to get out of the situation, offering UDF the opportunity to nominate a candidate is escaping responsibility. It’s a pity that a person like Petar Stoyanov fell into this trap.

- Do you expect Petar Stoyanov to withdraw his candidacy?
- From a purely political point of view, when a candidate is nominated by a political power and does not enjoy confidence within the political group, the nominee should withdraw his or her candidacy. I guess that the actual split within UDF between the party and its parliamentary group will become official now. I do not know if Petar Stoyanov is willing to pay such a price. I think that in this controversial situation he will withdraw his candidacy.

- How would you comment on the preliminary scandals regarding the election of a new Prosecutor General. The first nominee, Sotir Tsatsarov, said he was not very happy about having been praised by Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and PM Boyko Borissov…
- It is noteworthy that there are certain groups - NGOs and mass media - which are systematically lobbying for certain candidates for the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). Now, such a campaign has begun against Sotir Tsatsarov. In this case, it is important that this type of public campaigns do not turn into pressure on the SJC. After doubts appeared that the procedures for the selection of a Prosecutor General are made in such a way as to predetermine the selection, the rules need to be corrected and I hope this will happen. Sotir Tsatsarov himself stated that he had submitted such proposals. It is in the interest of everyone to have procedural rules, giving equal chance to all the candidates to be judged on their merits. It is too bad that elements of an organised campaign pro or against a particular candidate can be observed and that organisations spending a lot of money on writing protests, signs, etc., stand behind all that.

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