Desislava Atanasova and Borislav Belazelkov were sworn in as constitutional judges on Friday. President Rumen Radev boycotted the ceremony and did not attend. The comments of the politicians about the demonstrative absence of the head of state were not too late either. The oath-taking ceremony was presided over by the president of the court, Pavlina Panova.
“During its more than 32 years of existence, the Constitutional Court has defended its independence and will continue to do so,” she said.
By law, in addition to the president, the president of the National Assembly and the two heads of the supreme courts are also present at the ceremony. Galina Zakharova and Georgi Cholakov commented on the sign of the absence of the head of state from her.
“This is a personal judgment, but in view of the dispute – it is logical. Let’s not forget that two years ago there was a procedure at which Lozan Panov was not present and it took place”, explained Cholakov.
“I swore”: Atanasova and Belazelkov are officially constitutional judges
“The institutions in Bulgaria must be respected. What is happening is a way of improving and growing the work of the institution. It is useful”, claims Zakharova. And they pointed out that when electing constitutional judges from the quota of the judiciary, they changed the rules so that there was greater transparency around the candidates.
“Each body that conducts elections is responsible”, believes the chairman of the Supreme Court.
The election of Atanasova and Belazelkov is disputed by the president and the parliamentary opposition. The Constitutional Court is yet to examine the admissibility of the two requests. While today’s ceremony was going on, there was a protest under the windows of the Constitutional Court against the election of the new judges. An attempt was also made to break into the building. Atanasova and Belazelkov remained silent after the official ceremony. It became clear an hour before the ceremony that the president would not attend.
Atanasova and Belazelkov’s path to the Constitutional Court
The presidential institution explained that “it is unacceptable for words to contradict actions, and for ceremonial to replace principles. According to President Rumen Radev, taking an oath to observe the Constitution, against the background of serious doubts about its violation, is untenable”.
A few days ago, the president called not to proceed with the oath until the Supreme Court ruled on whether the election of Atanasova and Belazelkov by the parliament was not in violation. According to Radev’s reasons, basic principles such as transparency, openness and publicity were violated. Their 9-year mandate was also attacked. Today, the Presidency replaced Radev’s participation in the ceremony in the Central Committee with another. With a difference of 30 minutes before Desislava Atanasova and Borislav Belazelkov were to take the oath, Radev chose to present the highest state award, the Order of “Stara Planina” First Degree, to “Dondukov 2” to Dr. Mitko Vassilev. He is the long-time chief manager of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
2024-01-26 17:13:29
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