Bulgarian Parliament to Vote on Appointment of New Justice Minister

Ekaterina Zaharieva is the candidate for Bulgaria's new justice minister. Photo: BGNES

The Bulgarian parliament will vote on Friday on the appointment of Ekaterina Zaharieva, who has been nominated as the country's new justice minister.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov presented Zaharieva to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the nominee held talks with the parties of the ruling coalition and presented her views on continuation of the judicial reform.

Despite the splits within the ruling coalition, the nomination of Zaharieva will most likely be approved by parliament.

The main ruling party GERB together with one of the parties constituting the coalition government - Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) are firmly behind her nomination.

The junior coalition partner - the Reformist Bloc (RB) continues to be experiencing internal tensions, which started with the resignation of Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov last week.

Ivanov resigned after parliament failed to adopt all the amendments to the constitution concerning the reform of the judiciary, which had been proposed by him.

In particular, he was discontent with MPs revising the distibution of quotas within the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), which had been suggested by him.

In solidarity with Ivanov, one of the parties constituting RB - Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) withdrew its support for the government.

However DSB member and Health Minister Petar Moskov retained his position in the cabinet, while the other parties constituting RB reaffirmed their support for the government.

The other party supporting the ruling coalition - the Patriotic Front (PF) is also split over Zaharieva's nomination.

One of the parties constituting PF, the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB), expressed opposition against the nomination.

These tensions within the ruling majority have necessitated a reformulation of the coalition agreement, with an annex to the agreement most likely to be signed in January next year.

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