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Radan Kanev, co-Chair of junior coalition partner Reformist Bloc's group in Parliament, has been among the staunchest defenders of constitutional changes. Photo by BGNES
Lawmakers in Bulgaria have given the green light to constitutional amendments which the ruling coalition says will strengthen and boost the independence of the judiciary.
At a first reading, the draft changes have been approved by a majority of 184 out of 240 MPs, with 34 against and 8 choosing to abstain.
The number of lawmakers who backed the bill suggests it might be adopted through a fast-track procedure, though this does not reduce the number of readings (there will be additional two).
Wednesday's vote comes after calls by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who earlier arrived in Parliament personally to demand support for the amendments.
Resistance against the proposed amendments has come only from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the largest opposition party, and left-wing Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV), which has a minister in the government. Nationalist Ataka, which had long claimed it would never support the changes, voted "yes".
Дотук добре.
— Radan Kanev (@rmkanev) September 23, 2015
"So far so good," Radan Kanev, co-Chair of junior coalition partner Reformist Bloc, wrote on Twitter minutes after MPs held a vote. Kanev has been among the staunchest advocates of constitutional changes.
But the BSP's leader Mihail Mikov maintains the amendments are aimed at consolidating the ruling alliance's grip on power.
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