President Radev: I hope MPs realise the damage done to Parliamentarism (update)

President Rumen Radev on November 14 called on the parties to resolve the crisis with the election of the Speaker of Parliament and stressed that he had given enough time after the elections for the political leaders to find a consensus on the issue.

After the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed constitutional judges, the Head of State also commented that he was exploring the possibilities of referring the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council to appoint Georgi Cholakov as acting President of the Supreme Administrative Court until the election of a replacement. Radev made it clear that he will again attack the amendments to the Constitution that affect the appointment of caretaker governments. The President also responded to Delyan Peevski's statements from the beginning of the week.

The Head of State expressed regret that the parties did not make the best use of the time between the elections and the convening of the first sitting of the 51st Parliament to find dialogue and understanding.

"I hope MPs realise the damage that is done to parliamentarianism when its ineffectiveness is seen from the outside. I call for the issue of electing a Speaker of Parliament to be resolved faster in order to unblock the whole process of forming a government," the President said.

The Head of State said that he would consider all the circumstances and decide whether to refer to the Constitutional Court the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council to appoint Georgi Cholakov as Acting President of the Supreme Administrative Court until the election of the new head.

"This worrying practice of making decisions that contradict constitutional expediency and that do not fit into the framework of constitutional tolerance is increasing. By appointing interim officials, the requirements that come with issuing decrees are circumvented, the principles of tenure are also circumvented, and the guarantees of the independence of authorities are abrogated, and my powers as Head of State are being bypassed. There are quite a few such cases already - the acting Prosecutor General, the chargé d'affaires in Ukraine, and other cases" Radev highlighted.

Asked whether he would refer to the Constitutional Court the amendments to the Constitution for the election of a caretaker prime minister Radev said:

"Even the fathers of the amendments to the Constitution renounced their offspring. This case will inevitably be considered. We all see what it means to have a government without clear political responsibility."

Rumen Radev also commented on Delyan Peevski's statements about the President and the Vice-President on the day of Parliament's inaugural sitting, when "MRF - New Beginning" staged a protest in front of the Parliament to show that their voters are not phantoms.

"We should not be naive that this impudence on steroids will come to its senses, will disappear by itself, because of a clash with its own kind or under the pressure of new sanctions list. The development of Bulgaria as a democratic state is entirely our responsibility," the President said.