Bulgaria's Ombudsman to Act as Guarantor in Talks between Govt, Protesters

Bulgarian Ombudsman Konstantin Penchev has accepted an invitation to be a guarantor in a potential dialogue between protesters and state institutions.

Speaking on the Bulgarian National Television, BNT, Penchev said Tuesday that Deputy Parliament Chair Maya Manolova had extended the invitation to him at the proposal of NGOs, adding that he had accepted in a bid to help the demonstrators.

Bulgaria has seen 11 days of ongoing mass protests against the socialist-led government of Plamen Oresharski.

The rallies were triggered by the scandalous appointment of media mogul Delyan Peevski as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS), which was reversed amid substantial public discontent, but the protesters went on to demand the resignation of the Oresharski cabinet over ties with oligarchs, changes to the Electoral Code, as well as transparent and accountable policies of public officials.

In his Tuesday statement, Penchev made clear that he was meeting Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova to discuss a set of measures prepared during the February wave of protests which resulted in the collective resignation of the center-right GERB government.

Penchev said that Fandakova shared his concerns that the adoption of the measures, which required approval by Parliament, had reached a standstill.

Bulgaria's Ombudsman further recommended an urgent revision of the Election Code.

Penchev suggested that the amendments had to involve expanding access of citizens to government by lowering the requirements for independent MPs candidates as well as a return to the preferential voting system.

He went on to say that the law had to be amended to allow Bulgarians abroad to vote for independent MP candidates, not only for nominees of political parties.

Penchev concluded that politicians could no longer afford to think in theoretic terms as the people had already taken to the streets.

He noted that the issue of the presence or lack of political will was no longer relevant and MPs who were unwilling to do their job had to go.

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