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Proposed amendments to the Constitution rule out changing National Day

Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee proposes allowing MPs with dual citizenship to stand for election

Photo: BTA

A Bulgarian citizen with dual citizenship can be elected to Parliament if he or she has lived in the country for the last 18 months, according to amendments to the Constitution adopted by the National Assembly's Committee on Constitutional Affairs. The vote on the dual citizenship proposal was preceded by a debate in the Chamber, with the participation of constitutional experts and MPs.

Candidates with dual citizenship will also be eligible to become ministers, but the residency requirement will not apply.

Other provisions agreed to include a reduction in the term of office of the Prosecutor General from 7 to 5 years and a prohibition on the Prosecutor taking up the position again. In addition, the Supreme Judicial Council will be divided into a Judicial Council and a Prosecutorial Council.

State regulators would be elected by a qualified 2/3 majority, according to another proposal to be enshrined in the Basic Law. MPs rejected the idea of changing the date of the national holiday from 3 March to 24 May.

Under the Constitution and the procedural rules for its amendment, the bill should be debated and adopted by three votes on different days. If it has the support of three-quarters of all members of parliament, it will be adopted at the first reading. If it receives less than three-quarters but at least two-thirds of the votes of all MPs, it should be debated again between two and five months later. At this point, if there is support from at least two-thirds of all MPs, the motion will be passed.



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