Bulgaria's Painful Constitution Court Election

Bulgaria sank in a serious constitutional crisis after two nominations for constitutional magistrates from the parliamentary quota crashed in a scandal sending shockwaves all the way to Brussels.

The first candidature went down the drain amidst public outrage and EC criticism stirred by allegations of trading influence and corruption.

The second attempt misfired when it emerged that the first candidate looks like an angel, compared to claims of conflict of interests and money laundering against candidate number two.

The first was a senior judge, the second – a senior anti-mafia prosecutor. Both denied any wrongdoing.

The saga confirmed what we already suspected – the "system error" in general and in the judiciary in particular. Corruption, money and property scams, trading influence and conflict of interests got embedded so deeply that some see them as standard, while the others keep quiet.

We realized with sadness that we could eradicate the above by consecutively nominating most of our senior magistrates and then watch them go – if not for prosecution, at least in oblivion...

The good news is that under public, some media, social networks, and EU pressure, furtive political bargaining can no longer promote a single, murky candidate.

The growing pains of Bulgarian democracy...