The proposed amendments to Bulgaria’s Constitution failed to get enough votes at first reading. 161 MPs voted in favour. In order to change the Constitution, 180 votes are needed. "The amendments were not adopted, but since more than 160 MPs voted in favour, a first reading vote can be held once more, no earlier than two months from today", National Assembly Speaker Rosen Zhelyazkov said.
The proposed changes were submitted by GERB-SDS, We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. They envisaged a structural reform of the Supreme Judicial Council. According to the proposed amendments, the caretaker Premier shall be appointed amongst the President of the National Assembly, the President of the Constitutional Court or the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank. There was also a proposal to change Bulgaria’s national day from March 3 (on this date in 1878, the Peace Treaty of San Stefano was signed, which put an end to the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 and marked the re-establishment of Bulgaria as a sovereign state) to May 24- the Day of the Bulgarian language, education and culture, and of the Cyrillic alphabet. According to the proposed amendments, people with dual citizenship could also be elected as MPs and ministers. The Bulgarian Socialist Party, "There is Such a People" and "Vazrazhdane" strongly criticized the proposed changes. According to them, they will not solve the problems in the judicial system.
In keeping with tradition, city sanitation teams gave the Unification Monument in Plovdiv’s Unification Square a thorough cleaning ahead of the official 140th-anniversary celebrations of the national holiday. On 6 September, Bulgarians will mark the..
No GPS signal jamming was detected on the aircraft carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov in an interview with bTV, quoted by BTA. He confirmed..
Around 320,000 people are expected to travel during the holiday period from September 6 to 8, said Rumen Draganov, Director of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism, as quoted by BGNES. Nearly 40,000 of them will travel abroad, mostly..
The aircraft, carrying Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Bulgaria on Sunday, circled Plovdiv airport for an hour and a half before landing, said..
Veliko Tarnovo University is hosting the second organisational and methodological seminar for lecturers of Bulgarian language, literature, and culture at..
On Thursday, it will be mostly sunny with scattered high clouds. In the afternoon, cumulus clouds will develop mainly over Western Bulgaria, with a..
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