site.btaParliament Adopts Procedural Rules for Election of Central Bank Deputy Governor

The National Assembly on Wednesday adopted procedural rules setting out the terms and procedure for nominating a candidate for Deputy Governor and Head of the Issue Department of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), for holding the candidate’s hearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Budget and Finance, and for conducting the election in Parliament. The proposal was submitted by the Committee on Budget and Finance.

Last Thursday, Andrey Gurov submitted his resignation to the National Assembly after being sworn in before Parliament as caretaker Prime Minister.

Under the adopted rules, the BNB Governor must, through the Chair of the National Assembly, submit a proposal to the Committee on Budget and Finance within seven days of Parliament’s adoption of the procedural rules. The nomination and supporting documents will be published on a dedicated webpage on the National Assembly’s website no later than seven days before the hearing before the Committee on Budget and Finance.

The nominee will undergo a preliminary screening for affiliation with the former State Security and the intelligence services of the Bulgarian People’s Army.

Voting will be open and conducted via Parliament’s electronic system. The candidate will be deemed elected if they receive more than half of the votes cast by the MPs present. If the candidate fails to obtain the required majority, the National Assembly will adopt a decision to launch a new election procedure.

Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) MP Martin Dimitrov said his parliamentary group opposes the draft decision, arguing that the National Assembly, at the end of its term, should not take such an important decision as electing a BNB deputy governor. He said the majority in the current Parliament had not sought quality or the best professionals, but had focused on appointing individuals it had nominated itself. Dimitrov added that the majority cannot take pride in the Competition Protection Commission, the National Audit Office, or the Financial Supervision Commission.

There Is Such a People (TISP) parliamentary group leader Toshko Yordanov responded to Dimitrov, saying CC-DB should remember who amended the Constitution, who “included” the BNB Governor and deputy governors in the so-called “menu of options” [the pool of officials eligible to be appointed caretaker prime minister], who forced Gurov to step down, and who voted for Dimitar Glavchev as Chair of the National Audit Office. Yordanov also asked which party had replaced 28 regional governors with its own appointees the previous day. He said “impudence” is a defining trait of CC-DB and added that the current caretaker cabinet will “rig the elections”. Later in the debate, he was formally reprimanded for using obscene language during an exchange with the CC-DB parliamentary group.

GERB-UDF MP Hristo Gadzhev reminded Dimitrov that they had jointly elected the previous BNB deputy governors, Gurov and Petar Chobanov, and asked how much time they had given the BNB Governor at the time to nominate his candidates: 24 hours, he said.

According to Vazrazhdane MP Dimo Drenchev, BNB Governor Dimitar Radev has likely already selected a candidate for deputy governor, given that Andrey Gurov has long been on unpaid leave. Drenchev nevertheless agreed that the current National Assembly should not elect a BNB deputy governor and said Vazrazhdane will not support the draft decision. His colleague, Tsoncho Ganev, noted that this is not merely a vote for a deputy governor, but for a person who could become caretaker prime minister, which is why the decision is of critical importance. Ganev added that, after Bulgaria joins the eurozone, the BNB Governor will become “an expensively paid excursionist” on whom nothing depends. He also used insulting language about BSP.

BSP–United Left parliamentary group leader Nataliya Kiselova said she had expected a formal reprimand for Ganev, adding that such language is unacceptable and that Bulgarian citizens should not be expected to listen to it. On the draft decision, Kiselova noted that the BNB Act provides for the election of a new deputy governor within one month of a resignation. She added that launching the procedure is mandatory, while whether a nomination will be made depends on the BNB Governor.

MRF – New Beginning MP Yordan Tsonev said that, for CC-DB, the rule of law means taking control of the judiciary, if possible through NGOs, and described this as the “Soros” sect. Tsonev added that the right to nominate belongs to the BNB Governor, who should state how much time he needs to submit a nomination.

CC-DB MP Yordan Ivanov suggested that the former governing parties now want to stock the “menu of options” shortlist with their own appointees.