The Legal Affairs Committee is holding hearing of candidates to lead the Central Electoral Commission. The hearing is broadcast live on BNT and BNR as well as streamlined on the website of the National Assembly. The hearing is attended by MPs of other parliamentary committees, representatives of the administration of the President of Bulgaria, members of parties not represented in the parliament and experts.

The candidates have been nominated by MPs, by parliamentary groups, by parties and coalitions who have MEPs elected on their ballot, but are not currently represented in the parliament. The chairman of the legal affairs committee, Chetin Kazak, has set tomorrow as deadline for the candidates to present all missing papers in their documents.

The first candidate – Ivanka Grozeva, nominated by the National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP) was presented by the party’s deputy chairman Stanimir Ilchev. Ivanka Grozeva is lawyer with good reputation.

The second candidate – Ivaylo Ivkov was introduced by Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) chairman Bozhidar Lukarski on behalf of the Blue Unity Coalition of parties. Ivailo Ivkov shared that he is inexperienced in organizing  elections’ but is confident he would make it and said he represents the civic wing of the Reformist Bloc.

The candidate of GERB Margarita Zlatareva was introduced to the committee by Tsetska Tsacheva. Tsacheva explained the candidate is a practicing judge with long experience. Zlatareva has proposed the establishment of a Civic Council attached to CEC. She also proposed to appoint representatives of civil organizations as observers of CEC.

Maya Manolova noted that one of the ideas in the new election code was to assure publicity and transparency in the work of the whole election administration and of CEC in particular. The transparency in the work of CEC would also come with the participation of civic organizations.

Maria Boykinova was the other candidate of PP GERB. She is also an experienced jurist.

Yordanka Gancheva, another GERB’s nomination, said the essential role of the Civic Body which is to work with CEC would be to serve as guarantee of the principle of transparency, publicity and lawfulness of the CEC’s work.