Bulgaria's Anti-Graft Draft Law Fails to Make it Past Committee

A committee with Bulgaria's Parliament has failed to give the green light to an anti-corruption draft that would create a national agency fighting graft and coordinating work of a number of institutions.

The bill had been one of the top priorities of the Reformist Bloc, the junior partner in Bulgaria's minority coalition government, and especially of bloc member DBG (Bulgaria of Citizens Movement), the party of Deputy PM Meglena Kuneva..

Work on the text lasted months, overseen by Kuneva, after lawmakers surprisingly turned down its initial version in a plenary vote late last year.

There was not a single vote "against" the draft during the committee session, but a majority of six lawmakers abstained, with the four that backed the text not being enough to make it pass.

A key point was the setting up of a National Bureau comprising units of the current anti-corruption agency BORKOR, the National Audit Office and the commissions dealing with illegal assets forfeiture and conflict of interest.

It was the leadership and appointment procedure for members that left MPs divided, with the draft stipulating Parliament should approve candidacies with a majority.

However, a dispute emerged over whether a simple majority of more than half of the MPs (50%+1), a qualified majority of two-thirds, or simply more votes "yes" than "no".

An option for citizens to refer to the Bureau anonymously to expose alleged cases of corruption was the other bone of contention, with a majority of lawmakers in the committee raising concerns over possible misuse.

The anonymous signals were one of the several clauses that led to the first draft's rejection last year, prompting criticism from Western ambassadors.

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