At 16:00 today the ruling coalition is meeting to discuss legislative amendments to the judiciary. The meeting will take place at expert level and among the topics to be discussed are the proposals for the division of the Commission for Countering Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property, amendments to the Judiciary Act and the Criminal Procedure Code.
The event comes amid the announcement by Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Sotir Tsatsarov of his resignation and a call from the ruling parliamentary rostrum for Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev to resign.
The meeting will not be in the media and will be online.
We remind you that yesterday Prime Minister Kiril Petkov revealed to “BNR” that one of the priority changes is to make possible an investigation of the Prosecutor General.
Yesterday, Co-chairman of „Democratic Bulgaria“ Hristo Ivanov confirmed that there is a clear position of the ruling majority and a clear mandate from voters Geshev and Tsatsarov to be removed from their posts. He announced:
„Tsatsarov and Geshev are directly responsible for the fact that Bulgarian judicial sovereignty is under very serious doubt. This is the opinion of all partners and allies of Bulgaria. (…) They have reduced the reputation and prestige of the Bulgarian judiciary to catastrophically low levels, and this, according to the constitution, is one of the grounds for early termination of the term of office of the Prosecutor General.“
According to Ivanov, the accusations of political pressure on the Prosecutor General are a distortion of reality. According to him, the reality is that they must resign. People voted for it last year. He pointed out several times.
In the coming days, the bill amending the Judiciary Act is expected to be introduced, where in addition to the closure of the specialized prosecutor’s office and the specialized court, there will be amendments with regard to the Supreme Judicial Council.
„The Supreme Judicial Council is the main mechanism for Geshev’s removal. „Once this composition of the SJC is changed, our big political task will be to reach a consensus on electing a composition that will thoroughly examine the vast facts accumulated around the actions and inactions of the Prosecutor General.“, Ivanov said.
Asked which was more important – the replacement of Geshev or the creation of a systematic mechanism for control of the Prosecutor General, Ivanov replied: „To change the systemic factors, we must change the leadership of the prosecutor’s office. In order to secure reformist leadership in the prosecution, Geshev must be removed. (…) In order for everyone to understand that the era of uncontrollability is over, someone must take responsibility. So that everyone understands that there is control and the law is applied.“
Once again, Ivanov denied wanting to take the position of Prosecutor General.
