Bulgaria’s President asks Constitutional Court to reject law on business donations to political parties
Bulgarian President Roumen Radev has asked the Constitutional Court to overturn recently-approved provisions of the Political Parties Act and the Electoral Code allowing businesses to donate to political parties, his office said on July 30.
Bulgaria’s ruling majority secured approval for the changes in Parliament, while substantially reducing state subsidies for political parties that won more than one per cent of the vote in the most recent elections.
Radev’s office said that the disputed provisions would make the parties act in the interests of their business donors “and violate the constitutional provisions of the Bulgarian political system”.
“The fundamental principle of political life in the country – pluralism – is at stake,” according to Radev’s office.
The amendments would encourage businesses to donate to parties in power because those parties distribute public funds and decide who wins tenders and concessions, the statement said.
“The rest, and especially the smaller parties, will be pushed to the periphery of political life.”
These risks have also been carried over into the electoral process and threaten the foundations of democracy, Radev’s office said.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
