The Legal Affairs Committee in the Bulgarian National Assembly voted with 22 votes in favor of halting the procedure for electing the next Prosecutor General.

According to the adopted provision, any ongoing procedures initiated under Article 173, paragraph 1, that have not resulted in a presidential appointment decree by the time the law is promulgated, will be terminated.

The committee also approved a provision in the transitional and final regulations that stipulates the National Assembly and judicial bodies must initiate a new procedure for electing members of the Supreme Judicial Council within six months of the law coming into effect.

This decision comes just two days before the final day of the procedure for selecting the Prosecutor General, with the only candidate being the current Acting Prosecutor General, Borislav Sarafov.

Earlier in the week, the deputies passed all three bills at first reading that address changes related to the election of the new Prosecutor General. These bills include the termination of ongoing procedures for selecting both the Prosecutor General and the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, and have now been combined into a single bill.

Source: Bulgarian National Television (BNT)