site.btaThere Is Such a People Group Issues Declaration on 34th Anniversary of Adoption of the Constitution

The group of There Is Such a People (TISP) read out a declaration on the 34th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution by Bulgaria's 7th Grand National Assembly on July 12, 1991. Parliament's Deputy Chair, Assoc. Prof. Nikoleta Kuzmanova MP of TISP, said the entire Constitution-making process was guided by statesmanlike thinking and the goal of building a democratic state based on the rule of law.

Kuzmanova said the principle of the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution requires all institutions, including Parliament, to obey the Constitution and the law.

Parliamentary activity in the past ten years, and especially in the last four, has moved in precisely the opposite direction from the principles laid out in the Constitution, said Kuzmanova. She noted that 34 years on, Bulgaria is at a crossroads: one path leads to the continued dismantling of the foundations of the Constitution, while the other calls for a return to respect for the rule of law and the restoration of the eroded foundations of the democratic state.

Kuzmanova recalled that the Constitution was adopted by a Grand National Assembly made up of seven parties and coalitions and two independents, and that the statesmanship of all those MPs was not merely declarative.

"Today, 34 years later, we once again find ourselves in an atmosphere of political intolerance and, as strange as it may sound, the 2023 constitutional revisions brought us to the brink of a significant departure from the principles that should underpin the functioning of the state and society," Kuzmanova said.

The principle of a democratic state, namely, that all state power derives from the people and is exercised by the people, has a peculiar manifestation in Bulgarian reality, TISP said, referring to the current rules governing the exercise of direct democracy, such as referenda. TISP will continue to pursue legislative changes in this regard, said Kuzmanova.

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution was adopted оn December 20, 2023. On July 26, 2024, Bulgaria's Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional as "invalid" part of amendments to the Basic Law. Reasoning its decision, the Court largely argued that such amendments to the Constitution can only be introduced by a Grand National Assembly.