Ex Bulgarian Parliament Chair Exposes Procedural Flaws in Appointment of National Security Chief

Tsetska Tsacheva, Speaker of Bulgaria's 41st Parliament, July 2009 - Feburary 2013, and current MP of center-right party GERB. Photo by BGNES

Tsetska Tsacheva, former Parliament Chair and current MP of center-right party GERB, has emphasized that controversial media mogul Delyan Peevski was appointed, not elected Chair of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (DANS).

Tsacheva, as cited by the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), suggested Sunday that Peevski's assurance that he was ready to step down did not necessarily mean that it would become a fact.

"I have no information about Peevski having resigned from the post. What happened in Parliament on Friday was that Peevski was appointed (DANS Chair), despite the fact that an election procedure was required by law," Tsacheva stated, listing a number of procedural breaches which had been committed during Friday's parliament sitting.

She argued that Peevski's appointment had triggered a spontaneous outburst of social discontent due to the flawed procedure and the patent disagreement of MPs of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), who had been forced to back the nominee.

The former Parliament Chair and current MP of center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) dismissed as "ridiculous" accusations of nationalist leader Volen Siderov that her vote had helped secure a quorum for the vote on Peevski's appointment.

On Friday, Bulgaria's Parliament appointed Delyan Peevski, media mogul and MP of ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), as head of DANS, stirring a wave of protests across the country.

The step caused President Rosen Plevneliev to ask Parliament to reconsider the decision.

Plevneliev also scheduled an extraordinary meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security for June 20.

On Saturday, Peevski issued a statement saying that he was ready to step down "in the name of citizens, society and the state."

However, the move failed to curb the massive peaceful protests in the country, with thousands gathering in Sofia and other major cities for a second day on Saturday.

Many protesters demanded the resignation of the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, which took over at the end of May.

Protests against Peevski's appointment are to continue Sunday in a number of major Bulgarian cities.

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