Sanctioned for corruption under the Magnitsky Act, Bulgarian MP and former media tycoon Delyan Peevski (DPS, Renew Europe) was elected as a member of the parliamentary commission for the constitutional commission on Wednesday, meaning he will take on a central role in the upcoming changes to the Bulgarian constitution.
The constitutional amendments, with which Bulgaria must make deep judicial reform, are the basis for forming the new pro-European government, supported by GERB and the liberal coalition “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” (PP-DB).
This reform has been delayed for over a decade, despite the political pressure of the EU Commission and the judgments against Bulgaria by the European Court of Human Rights. PP-DB and GERB have enough support in the parliament to elect their government with 132 deputies, but they are not enough for the changes to the constitution, for which 160 deputies are required.
Peevski and his DPS party saw a chance to clean up their image after accusations by its opponents and political analysts of being part of the “status quo” in Bulgaria, which resists reforms and the rule of law.
The Co-Chairman of Democratic Bulgaria (DB), Hristo Ivanov, called on the DPS to carefully rethink who they propose as members of the constitutional commission not to discredit its work.
Peevski then threatened that if he was not accepted as part of the process, it could derail the entire reform effort.
“Hristo Ivanov must understand one thing. It is our right to decide who will be part of the constitutional commission, and if (Ivanov) wants to do a constitutional reform, that’s how it will be,” Peevski said.
His colleague from the DPS, Yordan Tsonev, said that the DPS party has proposals for changes in the Bulgarian constitution, of which Peevski is the author.
“The reform will be done by this parliament, with the participation of DPS and Peevski. This is not stubbornness, nor is it washing (of image), because there is nothing to wash,” said Yordan Tsonev.
On 2 June 2021, the US sanctioned Peevski and gambling boss Vasil Bozhkov under the Magnitsky Act, both of whom were accused by Washington of serious corruption, but the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has not yet found anything against them.
On 10 February 2023, Great Britain also imposed financial sanctions against them. London sanctioned Peevski for abusing his power by diverting state funds to his own benefit, with travel bans and asset freezes imposed under the UK’s global anti-corruption sanctions regime.
(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
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