Bulgaria's 2,275 judges meet to pick six members of new judicial council
On the eve of the presidential runoff, judges began choosing their members of the Supreme Judicial Council, whose current line-up has served on an expired mandate since 2022. They vote Nov. 7.
Archive image · Photo: Bin im Garten / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Bulgarian judges on Saturday began the process of electing their representatives to a new Supreme Judicial Council. All 2,275 serving judges in the country are entitled to take part in the general assembly at the Sofia Event Center. They will fill six seats on the 25-member body, with 21 candidates competing. The state news agency BTA is streaming the session live.
On the first day, judges elect a chair, an election commission of nine members and seven alternates, and the polling sections. Candidates then present their platforms and take questions. If fewer than half of eligible judges have registered, the start is pushed back by an hour, after which the assembly proceeds regardless of attendance. Voting by paper ballot is set for Nov. 7, with results due by 11 p.m. that day.
Prosecutors already chose their four members in late October, with 1,313 of 1,567 taking part. Parliament is due to elect its 11 members on Nov. 19 with a two-thirds majority. According to the legal news site DeFakto, the current council's mandate expired in October 2022, and it has continued to work since then.