Bulgarian Supreme Court chairman running for president

Supreme Court of Cassation Chairman Lozan Panov will be running for the position of president. He will be nominated as an independent candidate by an initiative committee, but the main driving force behind Panov is the civil initiative “Justice for Everyone”.

For almost eight years, this civil initiative has been pushing for a radical reform of the prosecutor’s office and the courts to be independent and free from political influence.

Judge Panov has become a key figure in opposing attempts to politically control the courts and is backed mainly by liberal centre-right circles. He is expected to be supported by the centre-right Democratic Bulgaria coalition.

Panov’s vice-presidential candidate will be Maria Kasimova-Moase, a journalist, translator and civil activist for various social causes.

“My cause has always been the independence of the judiciary. I will appeal to all free citizens to support me because I would like to be the next president to sign or not to sign the decree appointing the new President of the Supreme Court of Cassation,” said Panov.

Panov’s term as court chairman is set to expire on 10 February, and the Supreme Judicial Council has already opened a procedure to elect his successor. Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev, who has a significant sway on the institution, will likely influence the procedure.

Incumbent President Rumen Radev, who several major parties back, is considered a favourite in the upcoming elections. Radev’s main competitors are Panov and the Rector of Sofia University, Anastas Gerdjikov, who has the backing of ex-PM Boyko Borissov’s GERB party.

(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)