The Press Office of the Head of State announced that today, Rumen Radev is appealing to the Constitutional Court to declare the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria unconstitutional (Official State Gazette, No. 106 of 22.12.2023).
Rumen Radev believes that the right of dual citizens to be representatives and ministers, the ability to determine qualified majorities for the election of state bodies, the procedure for appointing a caretaker government, and the term of the powers of the various National Assembly legislatures are unconstitutional. The new mechanism for choosing supreme court presidents and the chief prosecutor without a presidential proclamation under Chapter Six "Judicial Power" is disputed. Apart from contradicting other constitutional provisions, these changes change the balance between the main bodies and their mutual control because they directly affect the form of government and fall under the exclusive competence of the Grand National Assembly, according to the head of state.
The President also contests the legislative process. "The constitution can be changed either with a large political majority and quickly (with no time limit between the three different voting days) or with a smaller political majority but more slowly (with a minimum two-month period between the different voting days)" the head of state says, opposing the hasty adoption of constitutional amendments with the minimum required majority and without substantive discussion.
"The crucial role of legislation can only be recognized by following the procedure for modifying the Basic legislation and the foundations on which the democratic state is formed. Rumen Radev argues that failing to comply with these laws denies the body's decisive role "in his request to declare § 2, § 3, § 5 (regarding art. 91b, para. 2), § 7, § 8, § 9, § 14 (regarding art. 129, para. 3), and § 15 (regarding art. 130, para. 3) unconstitutional. /BGNES
