Parliament elects Velislava Delcheva as Bulgaria’s new Ombudsman
In a vote on July 18, Bulgaria’s National Assembly elected Velislava Delcheva as the country’s new Ombudsman.
Delcheva, nominated by Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF coalition, got 123 votes in favour, 92 against, with five abstentions.
She was one of a field of six candidates, which also included Dzhema Grozdanova, nominated by the National Patients’ Organisation; Dimitar Yotov, nominated by the Active Consumers Bulgarian National Association; Maria Mateva, nominated by the Bulgarian Red Cross; and former Ombudsman Maya Manolova, nominated by 23 sector and civic organisations.
Apart from the votes from GERB-UDF, Delcheva also was backed by MPs from Magnitsky Act-sanctioned Delyan Peevski’s Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning group, the Bulgarian Socialist Party – United left coalition, and populist ITN.
She succeeds Diana Kovacheva, who stepped down from the post of Ombudsman in April 2024 after being elected to the European Court of Human Rights.
Delcheva, speaking after her election, said: “I face the difficult task of justifying the trust. I take on enormous responsibility.
“The agenda in my work will be determined by the citizens, and the protection of their rights will be a priority in the work of the Ombudsman. Together with you, I hope to find solutions to these problems.
“I count on good cooperation from the National Assembly,” she said.
According to her Linkedin entry, Delcheva, whose academic qualifications include a master’s degree in law from Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, is an expert with 20 years extensive experience in developing, managing and implementing Rule of Law programs in Bulgaria, Western Balkan countries, CIS countries and Turkey in particular court reform, court management and court administration.
The entry says that she has 20 years of experience in the field of Justice and Judicial sector, 20 years experience in the field of Judicial reform with donor organiations, more than 15 years specific experience in overall development, management and implementation of programs in the areas of Approximation of law, Judicial Reform, Court Management and Court Administration, Legal Aid.
It also says that she has more than 15 years experience in support, institutional strengthening and capacity building for courts, prosecution offices and Judicial Authorities – Supreme Judicial Council, National Bulgarian Judges Association, Association of Court Clerks, National Legal Aid Bureau, and five years specific experience in evaluation of projects, programs, policies and country-level interventions.
Apart from her native language Bulgarian, she speaks fluent English and Russian, as well as good French, according to her Linkedin entry.
(Photo: parliament.bg)
