The Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the decision of the Sofia City Court on the registration of BSP. “With Decision No. 144/09.09.2024 in commercial case No. 1822/2024, a three-member panel of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) upholds the decision of the Sofia City Court (SGS), which decreed an entry in the Register of Political parties under the batch of the “Bulgarian Socialist Party” due to new circumstances, namely deletion of Kornelia Ninova as chairman and representative of the BSP and entry as representative of the vice-chairman, designated as acting chairman, Atanas Zafirov,” the Supreme Court announced.
The decision is not subject to appeal. The case reached the Supreme Court after on July 10, the Sofia City Court entered in the register of political parties changes in the BSP, with which Kornelia Ninova was deleted as the chairperson of the BSP and a person who represents the party. The SGS decided that the party is now represented by the deputy chairman, designated as acting chairman Atanas Zafirov. With its decision, the court rejects the request to register Atanas Zafirov as the new chairman until the party’s congress holds an election.
The decision of the Supreme Court is key in view of who will register the party for the upcoming early elections. The meeting ended around 12 o’clock with the hearing of the parties in the case.
In a key statement, the representative of the state prosecution, Rumyana Arnaudova, referred to the Ninova statute, also mentioned by the BSP representatives. According to Arnaudova,
only after Congress ascertains the resignation of Cornelia Ninova, the procedure for her removal from the court can be initiated.
So, according to Arnaudova, this action of the Sofia City Court is premature.
However, she agreed that the other decision of the City Court, from which Atanas Zafirov was registered as a temporary executive, is legal and it is also according to the statute, so that the party is not left without a temporary government.
The parties defended their two theses, and the representatives around Ninova said that the decision of the Sofia City Court, which deleted Ninova, should be reversed. BSP representatives around Zafirov insisted that he be confirmed.
During the court session, MPs Ivan Chenchev and Georgi Svilenski, who are close to Ninova, submitted over 4,000 signatures on behalf of the BSP to the Central Election Commission (CEC) for the registration of the party for the upcoming October 27 extraordinary parliamentary elections. They went with a power of attorney signed by Ninova. And those like her, excluded from the BSP by a decision of the National Council, left a loophole for themselves – regardless of the court’s decision, at least to have submitted documents. The two reminded that the party congress has the final say on Ninova’s resignation, which she otherwise submitted after the vote in June.
Earlier, in the morning on BNT, Maya Manolova, part of the new large left alliance, pointed out that for the first time a former leader disputed his own resignation: “It’s a rather unflattering situation, it turns out that the close circle around Cornelia Ninova is working against her own party. It’s time to swallow the ego, to compromise, to step aside and step back.”
Another decision – of the Administrative Court – Sofia-city, that Atanas Zafirov is the representative of the BSP before the CEC, is yet to be appealed.
#Ninova #removed #chairman #BSP
