In an open letter to the President of the National Assembly and the chairpersons of the parliamentary groups, 12 NGOs call for the immediate election of a national Ombudsman, BNR’s Silvia Velikova reports. They write that the position of Ombudsman has remained vacant for one year and five months, and also that it is among the institutions which nominates its own representative for the nominations commission electing members of the anti-corruption commission.

The NGOs express surprise that the MPs have been unable to elect a new Ombudsman. “It is incomprehensible that for more than one month, parliament has been unable to bring the procedure to completion and elect an Ombudsman of the country. Such behavior is directly contrary to the rights and interests of the citizens and their associations, demonstrating negligence of this choice which is of such importance, and one more time brings to mind a sense of backdoor dealings rather than a fair contest,” the letter reads.

Edited by Diana Tsankova
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photo: Lex.bg