Parliament Finally Overturns Audit Office Act Veto

President Rosen Plevneliev has imposed a total of six vetoes on decisions by ruling BSP, all of them overturned. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian Parliament voted against President Plevneliev's veto on amendments to the Audit Office Act.

Both ruling parties, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and their partners from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), as well as Ataka, unanimously rejected Plevneliev's move, gathering 123 votes against the 71 lawmakers from the opposition GERB who backed it, Dnevnik.bg reports.

The new Audit Office Act envisages changes to the national auditing body's structure, increasing its strength from three to nine members.

It also provides conditions on which the Chairman or another member of the National Audit Office could be dismissed.

Explaining his motives to return the bill to Parliament, Bulgarian President Plevneliev earlier explained that the legislative mechanisms of the Audit Office's functioning remained unclear and that he saw no reason for enhancing its staff without assigning competences and responsibilities to the new members, especially in times of economic crisis.

The center-right opposition GERB sided with him by saying that the government was aiming to take charge of the auditing body with its legislative changes.

Tuesday's Parliament decision marked the sixth successful overturning of a veto imposed by the head of state.

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