Bulgaria’s Parliament removes President’s role in appointing security agency head

Bulgaria’s Parliament has voted to remove the President’s role in the appointment of the head of the State Agency for National Security.

On the night of October 2, the National Assembly approved in swift succession the first and second reading of amendments to the State Agency for National Security Act.

Until now, the head of the agency was proposed by the Cabinet to the head of state, who approved the appointment by decree. Now the agency chief will be elected by the National Assembly on the proposal of the government, and the presidential decree is no longer required.

The proposal was approved by the votes of 120 MPs – from Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning group of Magnitsky Act-sanctioned Delyan Peevski, the Bulgarian Socialist Party – United Left, populist ITN and non-aligned MPs.

The amendments followed a stand-off between the ruling majority and President Roumen Radev on the appointment of a new head of the agency, and mean that the ruling majority may not proceed with its choice, to appoint the acting head of the agency, Denyo Denev, as its chief.

In a further move against Radev, Parliament approved the first readings of amendments that transfer to itself the power to appoint the heads of the State Agency for Technical Operations and the State Agency for Intelligence. The second reading of these amendments is expected next week, after Parliament shortened the time between the two readings to three days.

On the evening of October 2, Radev reacted to the approval of the amendments to the State Agency for National Security Act by saying that the government’s goal was to subordinate the security services “to manipulation of elections, to cover up thefts and robberies, to create compromising material against those who are inconvenient and to stifle any possible opposition.”

Radev accused Peevski, of “taking the services on board with his affiliated parties.”

“Remember how the ‘assemblage’ hijacked the constitution,” Radev said, referring to the 2023 constitutional amendments approved by the informal governing coalition of the time, that narrowed the head of state’s choice of a caretaker Prime Minister.

“Peevski is gnawing at what is left of it, just as he is gnawing at political parties – first the MRF, now it’s GERB, and others are coming along,” Radev said.

He did not say whether he intended imposing a veto on the amendments, but said that he “expects Bulgarian citizens to react, because this is a blow to democracy that will have long-term negative consequences.”

Before the October 2 vote, opposition coalition Democratic Bulgaria – part of Parliament’s second-largest group, We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria – said that it would abstain from voting.

“There is no way we can support the majority’s attempt to appoint Peevski’s man Denyo Denev,” said Bozhidar Bozhanov, co-leader of Democratic Bulgaria.

Bozhanov said that the situation was identical to that of 2013, when “Peevski’s majority, which did not include GERB at the time, elected Peevski as head of the State Agency for National Security. Now he (Peevski) is amending the law in the same way and appointing his man.”

Bozhanov said that the amendments were not in contradiction to the constitution, but “the issue is a balance.”

“In previous moments, Radev had his own caretaker government on the one hand, and on the other, with his signature as president, he appointed people in his interest, but now that is not the case. There is reason for the balance to remain and for the government to make an attempt to propose other people, because Denyo Denev is not the only one in this country,” Bozhanov said.

In a related development, the ruling coalition is also moving to amend the National Security Service Act to deprive the head of state of the right to use National Protection Service vehicles.

The amendments have been proposed by Peevski’s group, after in August Radev travelled in Varna with a motorcade of seven security service cars.

Kalin Stoyanov, a former Interior Minister who is now a Peevski MP, attacked Radev at the time for using the National Protection Service as a “taxi company.”