Bulgaria Ex EU Lady to Face Court over Presidential Bid

Meglena Kuneva may be prevented from running for president over her term as European Commissioner from 2007-2009 and political advisor of European Commission Vice President Siim Kalas since April 2010. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria's former European Commissioner Meglena Kuneva is likely to end up at the Constitutional Court as the controversy over her eligibility for presidential runner mounts.

The country's biggest nationalist party Ataka has renewed its efforts to prevent the country's former European Commissioner from running for president, saying she does not have the constitutional and moral right to do that.

"The Bulgarian Constitution requires that candidates for president are eligible only if they have lived in the country in the last five years. Kuneva does not meet that requirement since she has served as political advisor of European Commission Vice President Siim Kalas since April 2010," nationalist leader Volen Siderov argues.

Kuneva has also no moral right to run for president, the nationalist fumes.

“They called her Mrs. Yes. She just bended and agreed. She must face the court and be brought to justice over the damage she caused to the state, including the shut-down of Kozloduy nuclear power plant.”

Siderov, who will also run for head of the state, plans to initiate a sign-up in parliament and approach the magistrates from the Constitutional Court over the issue. He needs the signatures of just 48 members of parliament to do that.

Kuneva, Bulgaria's chief negotiatior for accession during the cabinet of Simeon Saxe-Coburg (2001-5), may also be prevented from running for president over her term as European Commissioner from 2007-2009.

The main argument of Kuneva's opponents is that during her term in Brussels she has been contracted by the European Commission and has served as a representative of the citizens of all European Union countries, not just Bulgaria.

The Election Code however leaves a loophole, saying that the time a Bulgarian citizen has spent abroad after being deployed by the Bulgarian state should be included in this period.

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