Human
rights news: May 2004
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15 May 2004 |
:: NEWS :: |
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Parliament fails to elect first Bulgarian ombudsman |
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The election of the first Bulgarian ombudsman, which was supposed to take place on May 14, was boycotted by MPs in the National Assembly. Parliament failed to adopt the ombudsman in both secret votes. None of the seven candidatures managed to gather 50%+1 votes. During the second vote, the final two candidates were sociologist Petar-Emil Mitev, supported by the ruling NMSS, and Anna Karaivanova, supported by Coalition for Bulgaria, who got 72 and 46 votes respectively from a total 187 votes cast; the other cast votes were not valid. At the second vote, the election was boycotted by MPs who supported the other five candidates. According to the speaker of parliament, Ognyan Gerdjikov, the position of the MPs during the vote reflected the position of the right political spectrum, which considered that both candidatures were inappropriate. The procedure for election of an ombudsman will now begin anew - from
nomination of candidates, to political consultations and voting in parliament. |