Bulgarians head to the polls on 4 April 2021 to elect a new parliament. DRI’2019s Jil Prillwitz sat down with re:constitution 2020/2021 fellow Angelina Atanasova, currently hosted by the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, to discuss the elections and the country’2019s rule of law problems.
Last summer, Bulgaria was rocked by’00a0major protests about the country’2019s rule of law issues, which include corruption, the unchecked powers of the Prosecutor General and judicial independence. Has the situation evolved since then?
No, the situation within the country remains largely unchanged. The controversial Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev, has not resigned, as protesters demanded. However, there were some important developments at the European level.
The European Public Prosecutor’2019s Office (EPPO) recently rejected’00a0seven out of ten Bulgarian candidates’00a0for the posts of European Delegated Prosecutor, who investigate and prosecute potential crimes against the EU budget for the EPPO. It stated that the candidates, nominated by the Bulgarian authorities, were lacking relevant experience. The EPPO also underscored how important it was for candidates to be of high independence and moral integrity.
Additionally, earlier this year the European Court of Justice’00a0ruled’00a0that European arrest warrants issued by the Bulgarian prosecution service are invalid. The reason was that they are not compatible with minimum fair trial standards under EU law.
These developments are significant because many Bulgarians did not feel supported by the EU during last year’2019s protests. There was an impression that Brussels was closing its eyes to Bulgaria’2019s long-standing issues, especially in comparison to its active engagement with the situations in Hungary and Poland. These recent decisions raise hope for a change of direction.
Are rule of law issues coming up in the political campaign?
Last year’2019s protests brought more public attention to the rule of law and corruption. In the past, these were mostly issues for experts and civil society activists. Political parties now have an incentive to attract voters by focusing on these topics.
One party that does so is Democratic Bulgaria, an electoral alliance of three parties that is co-led by Hristo Ivanov, a former Minister of Justice. His coalition is pushing for judicial reforms and has a lot of expertise on this topic, both among its members and leaders. The governing GERB party, whose Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has been’00a0one of the main targets of last year’2019s protests, also’00a0pledges’00a0to continue its efforts to build a just, independent and transparent judiciary.
What impact has covid-19 had on these elections?
At the beginning of March, most restrictions were eased in Bulgaria: restaurants, bars and malls were all reopened. This has since led to an uptick in infections. Bulgarian hospitals are full, and the situation is deteriorating. Even though’00a0stricter measures are now back in place, this may still mean that many people will be afraid to go out and vote, which would decrease the turnout.
Bulgaria does not have a tradition of postal voting. Its introduction was considered for this election but ultimately’00a0rejected, amongst others because of logistical concerns, such as the unreliability of the Bulgarian postal service. Bulgarians who will be in mandatory quarantine on Election Day, on the other hand, have an opportunity to’00a0sign up for mobile ballot boxes’00a0to be sent to their homes.
The European Commission published its first EU-27’00a0Rule of Law Report’00a0last year. Do you think the’00a0Bulgaria report’00a0accurately assesses the situation in the country? How could the next edition be strengthened?
Since different interests must be balanced in this type of report, it is rather mellow on certain points. For example, while the 2020 protests are mentioned a few times, the fact that the resignation of the Prosecutor General was a central demand is never explained. Nevertheless, the report outlines that institutional change in the Bulgarian Prosecution Service is clearly needed to ensure a reliable system of checks and balances.
My colleague Miriana Ilcheva, Senior Analyst in the Law Programme at the’00a0Center for the Study of Democracy’00a0in Sofia, also highlighted that more attention should be paid to the current media environment in Bulgaria. The country consistently’00a0scores lowest’00a0within the EU on freedom of the press, a serious concern for accountability and rule of law.
What is next for the rule of law in Bulgaria after the elections? Which issues should be priorities for the incoming government?
The ruling GERB party is leading in the’00a0polls’00a0and looks likely to win the election. However, the next parliament might be more fragmented, due to several newly formed parties. This could be a good thing. Even if the ruling coalition will still be led by GERB, the opposition would provide a better check against the government from inside parliament, rather than on the streets outside.
It may also lead to much-needed judicial reforms in Bulgaria, even if compromises will have to be made to achieve this goal. In addition, any new government would need to tackle the persisting concerns of high-level corruption, enhance accountability on how EU funds are spent, and address the deteriorating media environment.
Democracy Reporting International (DRI) works to improve public understanding of the rule of law in the EU as part of the’00a0re:constitution programme’00a0funded by’00a0Stiftung Mercator. Sign up to’00a0DRI’2019s newsletter’00a0and follow us on’00a0Facebook’00a0and’00a0Twitter’00a0to find out more about the rule of law in Europe.
Photo credit:’00a0‘041b’043e’0440’0434 ‘0411’044a’043c’0431’044a’0440’0438’00a0/CC BY-SA 4.0
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