On a proposal by the Council of Ministers, the heads of the State Intelligence Agency and the State Agency Technical Operations will, from now on, be elected by the National Assembly, BNR’s Maria Fileva reports.

This means the president’s powers of appointing the heads of the special services are being withdrawn. Last week a similar change was affected with regard to the head of the State agency for National Security. The legislative amendments were adopted with the votes of the ruling majority, and the support of DPS-New Beginning and independent members of parliament.

• Parliament removed the president’s authority to appoint the heads of security services.

MPs who disagree with the texts endorsed expressed fears that the special services are being taken over politically, transporting the country back to pre-1989 times (the period of the totalitarian regime).

“This means usurping repressive power in the country,” said Atanas Atanasov from the coalition We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria (PP/DB). Pretar Petrov from Vazrazhdane stated that after the amendments are promulgated in the State Gazette, his party would collect signatures to contest them in the Constitutional Court. Lyuben Dilov from the ruling GERB-SDS on his part supported the amendments, stating that it will now be clear who bears the responsibility for the appointed heads of the special services.

Edited by Diana Tsankova
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photo: BTA