Election of Chair of Sofia Appellate Court Postponed for June 26

Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) has postponed the election of a Chair of the Sofia Appellate Court (VAS) for June 26.

The reason for the postponement is a sick note submitted by Veselin Pengezov, the sole candidate for the post, according to the BGNES news agency.

Pengezov was temporarily removed from the post of Chair of the Sofia Appellate Court after he was charged with malfeasance in office related to the implementation of an EU-funded project under the operational program "Administrative Capacity" for an information system of the military courts in 2009. The other defendants in the embezzlement case are Maria Divizieva, chief of staff of Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, and Petar Petkov, Chair of the Military Appellate Court.

The charges did not prevent Pengezov from running for a second term as Chair of the Sofia Appellate Court.

He insisted that he was innocent and that the charges against him were supposed to remove him from the competition for a Sofia Appellate Court head.

Pengezov's term in office as Chair of the Sofia Appellate Court expires in June and he is entitled to a second term in office.

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