- Efforts to create a left-wing United give grounds for optimism at the moment, says the candidate from “BSP-United Left” in the 23rd MIR – Sofia (with preference 103)
- The position of the BSP is that this SJC has no moral basis to elect a chief prosecutor and head of the SAC
– Mrs. Kiselova, you closely follow the political processes as an expert, but for the first time you are in the role of a politician. What made you cross the barrier?
– The decision to run for national representative was made after I realized that by giving advice as an expert, I don’t think I was effective enough. The last year especially – changes in the constitution, a half-hearted decision of the Constitutional Court regarding these changes. Obviously, some things in politics have to be done in person.
– Why did you choose the BSP?
– The upcoming elections are unlike any other because of the crisis state of our party-political system. BSP is one of the few systemic parties. At critical moments in our recent past, it has been a factor in progress. And the efforts to create a left unity give reason for optimism at the moment. In our society, values such as solidarity and justice are suppressed, and with the left they are the basis of the proposed policies, which I like.
– What impresses you during the election campaign, seen from the inside? And what do people say to you during meetings?
– I was expecting a different type of campaign – discussions on specific topics between candidates from different lists. But right now
my campaign looks like a skirmish between campaigners rather than a competition between teams
And people are quite tired, distrustful and angry. The topics they raise are, I suppose, common to all the candidates – for example, the upcoming liberalization of household electricity, bank charges, photovoltaics on fertile farmland, the literature and history curricula in secondary education, the quality of legislation over the last three years. Some of the problems they shared grabbed me by the throat, I’m looking for ways to help them.
– Will more expert persons like you, who enter politics for the first time, give a chance for a more normal dialogue between the formations in the 51st National Assembly and a way to find a way out of the crisis?
– For me, entering the parliament is not an end in itself. But a larger left-wing parliamentary group could offer a more productive national approach.
The way out of the crisis is not to promise one thing, but to do the opposite, but to see what is the cause of it – the state of the political parties. This decay started back in 2016 and has not stopped – controversial referendum, compulsory voting with dramatically low voter turnout, zero subsidy for parties, donations from companies for political activities, discrediting of parliamentary democracy.
My personal efforts will be in the direction of having a dialogue between the groups. So that the 51st National Assembly does not turn out to be another redundant parliament.
– What are the possible configurations to have a government in the 51st National Assembly? Who and what compromises can and should be made?
– If we listen to GERB-SDS – only with the first mandate. PP-DB want them to name the prime minister, i.e. the second term. Before proceeding to talk of personalities, it is better to state the aims of government in a program of government. My personal opinion is that
the issue of war is a line that should not be crossed
Also the high social cost that people would pay.
The BSP’s congressional decisions on GERB and DPS are currently valid and entering into a coalition is not permissible.
– BSP wants to repair the repair of the constitution – is it possible to form such a majority in the 51st National Assembly?
– It would be difficult, but the two governments of Glavchev will sober up enough deputies and I hope that they will not need much persuasion. Party voices have already been heard for the return of the old rules for the formation of the caretaker government. A temporary constitutional commission can create a general project without claiming authorship, and the goal is clear – return to the old order for the formation of an official government, cancellation of the “home book”.
– Should there be more lawyers in the parliament? Many of your colleagues often criticize the quantity and quality of laws?
– Legislation is a very complex human activity that requires in-depth knowledge and responsible thinking, analytical approach and complex thinking, not piecemeal exercises. It’s not enough to have a law degree to line up at banks and push buttons. The efforts of the government and the National Assembly are needed to improve the quality of the legislation.
My understanding is conservative – I am not in favor of changing a law more than once a year. There are laws that have been changed every single session in the 2017-2021 term. This shows a lack of long term planning. These practices with urbulic legislation must stop.
– How to get out of the blockage with the replacement of the regulators, including the parliamentary quotas in the judiciary?
– The human way is through negotiations – maybe long ones.
The question is political – will the composition of the bodies be renewed one by one, all at the same time, or five at a time, for example, because there are 20 state bodies. The possibilities for nominations, for a public hearing before their voting, will also depend on the approach. The qualified majority in the Anti-Corruption Law should be repealed and the composition of the body should be increased from three to five members.
The judiciary requires a special approach. We are talking about the SJC, but the Inspectorate to it has an expired mandate from 2020. For me, especially
in the SJC, the SC should not elect acting magistrates
– Has the case been cleared up as to whether the current SJC with an expired mandate has the right to choose the chief prosecutor, and has already started nominations for the SJC?
– It is not clear, the public needs to be convinced that imposing a unilateral decision on the judiciary will exacerbate the problem for many years to come.
What is the situation? The mandate of the current SJC expired 2 years ago. The elected members of the SJC are not legitimate. To say that the mandate does not matter is to justify the behavior of the National Assembly in not acting and not implementing the Constitution and the Judiciary Act.
With §23, para. 2 of the transitional and final provisions of the Law on Amendments to the Constitution states: “Until the election of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme Prosecutorial Council, the Judicial College and the Prosecutorial College of the previous Supreme Judicial Council shall perform the functions of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme Prosecutorial Council respectively this Constitution, with the exception of the powers under Art. 130b, para. 2, item 2 (election of presidents of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court) and para. 3, item 2 (election of the chief prosecutor)”. I emphasize the word “present”. The Constitutional Court did not declare this paragraph unconstitutional.
In case of a contradiction between the main constitutional text (the authority of the SJC to choose the administrative heads of the supreme courts and the chief prosecutor) and the limitation for the previous SJC, there must be clarity – which prevails. The position of the Executive Bureau of the BSP and the Parliamentary Group of the BSP is that the SJC refrain from moving the procedures for a new chief prosecutor and a new chairman of the Supreme Court.
After the elections, “BSP-United Left” will propose to start a procedure for renewing the elected members of the National Assembly. The majority is high – 2/3, but we cannot keep the status quo for years. If there is no effort, it can go on like this for a long time.
There are ideas for referral to the Constitutional Court. For me, the internal contradictions in the constitutional provisions prevail over whether a body with an expired mandate can exercise powers that go beyond the mandates of Parliament and the SJC. There are possibilities for legal changes as well, but for that a parliamentary majority is needed and we will have a concrete proposal after the elections in the new parliament, because the current National Assembly does not have the legitimacy to legislate anymore.