Bulgaria State TV New Head Election Challenged in Court

Society | July 28, 2010, Wednesday // 12:32
Bulgaria: Bulgaria State TV New Head Election Challenged in Court In the middle of July the Council of Electronic Media (CEM) voted unanimously for the appointment of long-time journalist and news anchor Vyara Ankova (pictured) as director-general of the Bulgarian National Television. Photo by BGNES

A failed runner for the office of director-general of the Bulgarian state-owned national television channel BNT has appealed the contest outcome, citing technical irregularities and corruption allegations.

Svetlana Bozhilova argues that the competition was launched before the end of the term of the previous BNT head in breach of the procedure. Besides she accuses the winner Vyara Ankova of being involved in corruption schemes.

The complaint was filed at the Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday.

“I am not trying to trigger a scandal. I am just approaching institutions in a bid to tell the truth. Should there be a new contest, I will not run.” Bozhilova told Dnevnik daily.

She has already conferred with Senior Prosecutor Boris Velchev and has handed him documents, which show corruption schemes, involving Vyara Ankova, has incurred serious losses to the television.

In the middle of July the Council of Electronic Media (CEM) voted unanimously for the appointment of long-time journalist and news anchor Vyara Ankova as director of the Bulgarian National Television.

A total of seven bidders originally applied for the position. One of them was not allowed to participate because of incomplete documentation, and another one – because he was found to have been a collaborator of the State Security service of the former communist regime.

Vyara Ankova was born in 1966. She has a degree in English from the Sofia University. She took up a job as a reporter at the Bulgarian National TV in 1991, and has subsequently been a news anchor. She has specialized with CNN and the BBC in the early 1990s.

In the late 1990s she married Tomas Lafchis, a former president of the Levski Sofia football club, and became the BNT correspondent for Greece after her family moved to Athens.

Since 2004, she has served as the head of the “Information Directorate” at the Bulgarian National Television.

Ankova should come into office after August 1 and he appeal will not delay her appointment.

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Tags: Vyara Ankova, Svetlana Bozhilova, BNT, BNR

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