/ world today news/ The leader of the DSB posted on his blog a comment-request for political behavior on the occasion of tomorrow’s vote on the constitutional changes in the second reading. There is no official decision by either the executive council of the RB or the PG for more radical actions if none of their proposals are voted on, but Radan Kanev, pointing out that tomorrow is a historic day, announces that he will not resign.
We publish the entire text of the letter, without editorial intervention:
Compromise, trust and the cost of the vote
Tomorrow, the most important debate will be held in the Bulgarian parliament since the one on allowing NATO planes through our airspace in 1999. And a decision will be made – as then – which will impose new perspectives on our society and new dividing lines in our politics, reformulating (ah, this dream of Mr. Mestan…) the entire political and power space.
1) First of all, there will be a discussion about the checks and balances between the authorities and the Institutions. This debate was deliberately omitted by the Supreme Court in 1990/91, predetermining the criminal and controlled nature of much of the political transition.
Because a “transition” in the justice system did not take place, but through the uncontrolled and unreformed structure of the prosecution, the criminal nomenclature elites of the late totalitarian regime maintained and increased their power.
There will be a discussion about the overconcentration of power in the hands of the prosecution and a series of attorneys general.
A debate will also be held on the effectiveness of the prosecution. Because a quarter of a century and four chief prosecutors is a sufficient period for an evaluation, and it is unequivocally negative. The results of enforcing the rule of law, fighting organized crime and political corruption are dismal.
Or more precisely – none. No results.
And I have to say honestly, this debate is already lost. The 43rd National Assembly will not adopt radical enough changes to the Constitution to solve the problem.
Bold proposals will not find sufficient support, on the contrary – they will be rejected by an overwhelming majority.
But still, in July, a serious compromise was reached in the Bulgarian parliament, which opens the door, if not for a deep reform on the Romanian model, then at least for the establishment of minimal checks and balances. And here the question is – will the people’s representatives and the parliamentary groups keep the agreement reached, will they remain true to their word and signature? Or in other words…
2) There will also be a discussion on trust tomorrow. What politicians from the government and the opposition can have between themselves when they have made a commitment to common national goals. Because without a minimum of trust between the government and the opposition, agreement on national goals is impossible, and society will continue to wander in the tangle of pig intestines and gang fights that we call the democratic process.
There will also be a debate on trust within the individual parties and majority coalitions. A trust that – beyond natural competition and personal clashes – determines the meaning and benefit of the existence of these political bodies. And above all – a debate about the trust between citizens and the authorities. Trust without which all else is a lost cause.
3) Perhaps the most important part of the debate will be about corruption – both in the judicial system and in politics. Because in democratic countries, the fight against corruption is the job of the prosecutor’s office.
And here is the answer to the key question about the division of the SJC and the ratio of quotas in its two colleges.
The court must be independent, but also controlled in a way that ensures prosecution of corrupt judges.
And in Bulgaria there is a body that can investigate and control the court. This body is the prosecutor’s office. However, it is impossible for control to be carried out successfully when judges and prosecutors are mutually appointed. It is necessary for the investigative body to be independent and impartial in its activities. And hence the need for separate, independent colleges in the SJC.
The division itself will guarantee control over the court’s activities and investigation of corrupt practices – because the prosecution will be independent from the court. And he will neither be tempted to frame and shadow his protégés, nor will he be afraid of influencing his own personnel development. The prosecutor’s office, in addition to being independent, must also be controlled.
Because – unlike the court in Bulgaria, there is no one to control and investigate it. And the proposal for parity of parliamentary and professional quota in the “prosecutor” collegium of the SJC is insufficient, but a right step in this direction. A step that is the result of a heavy political compromise, in which even the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic participated.
The corruption debate should confirm this compromise. But in recent weeks, against the backdrop of an unprecedented slanderous campaign, this compromise, sealed with the signatures of over 180 people’s representatives, has been greatly shaken.
4) And here is the time to say that there will also be a debate about fear. We have to answer what is the reason why some of us bend and reject our signature and the agreement reached. And my answer is clear.
Fear of his own past and the possibility that the prosecutor’s umbrella over him will be removed or that the “media” dogs will be bitten. And above all, let’s answer the question: Who is reversing the positions of the Bulgarian people’s representatives and making them give up their signature and word ?
5) And this means that we will also have to answer the question of the political role of the Prosecutor General in the process of decision-making by the supreme body of power in our parliamentary republic.
And let’s go back to the question of checks and balances, because the illegitimate political role of the Attorney General is becoming a patronage of political corruption. The out-of-control attorney general – whatever his name – becomes the figurehead who judges whether and to what extent political and judicial corruption should be investigated. And judging by the results – he prefers to cover up corruption instead of investigating it. And so use it as a tool in the exercise of illegitimate political power.
By virtue of the temptation of the position and his unlimited powers, rather than his personal qualities or infirmities, he becomes the Republic’s chief racketeer. And in threat to national security.
The price of tomorrow’s vote is the trust in the majority and the will of the people’s representatives to fight the prevailing political corruption. And anyone who bends and backs down from the difficult compromise reached, will pay with the future of every single Bulgarian citizen, with the future of our children, with dooming the entire Bulgarian nation to moral and economic misery.
I refuse to pay that price.
#Radan #Kanev #bloody #letter #vote #constitutional
