Large numbers in protests in Bulgaria against nominee to be Prosecutor-General
Protesters numbering several hundreds, if not thousands, turned out on the evening of July 29 to protest against the nomination of Ivan Geshev to be Bulgaria’s next Prosecutor-General.
That day, after the third and final round of formal proceedings for the nomination of a new Prosecutor-General, it became clear that Geshev would be the only candidate.
Geshev has been nominated by an overwhelming majority of the Supreme Judicial Council. The law allows the Justice Minister to be the only other entity to nominate a candidate.
On July 29, Danail Kirilov, Justice Minister and a senior member of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s centre-right GERB party, confirmed for the third time formally that he had no intention of nominating another candidate.
The protesters, who turned out in force, demanded a change to the law to allow alternative proceedings for nominations to the post.
The election of Bulgaria’s next Prosecutor-General is scheduled for October 24, in what is now a one-horse race.
Organisers of the protests, including those who held blown-up cartoons alleging Geshev to be linked to a cartel of Bulgaria’s political establishment, said that they would continue weekly protests until the eve of the formal decision.
Bulgaria’s “Justice for All” initiative is the main organiser of the protests against Geshev, demanding the withdrawal of his nomination and the naming of an alternative candidate.
“We are demanding not just the withdrawal of Ivan Geshev, but a change in the very procedure for the election of a Prosecutor-General,” the group said in a message to the media.
