The Bulgarian Association for Active Consumers has proposed the chairwoman of the Consumer Protection Commission, Maria Filipova, for deputy ombudsman of Bulgaria. Marina Kisyova de Heus and Denitsa Dimitrova have also been nominated, bTV Novinite reported.
The proposals for the position have been published on the website of the ombudsman institution. On July 30, the newly elected ombudsman Velislava Delcheva gave a one-week deadline for non-governmental organizations to propose her deputy.
The position of deputy ombudsman falls into the so-called "home book", from which the president can choose a future caretaker prime minister. This makes the position particularly significant in the context of the political instability in the country.
Maria Filipova held senior government positions in the period 2011-2025 in the Registry Agency, the Agency for Privatization and Post-Privatization Control, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervision Commission and the Consumer Protection Commission.
According to the adopted procedure, a public hearing of the proposed candidates is pending before an evaluation committee, including members of the Advisory Council on Constitutional and Legal Issues to the Ombudsman.
The committee must come up with its assessments and ranking of the candidates within three days after the hearing. After that, Delcheva must submit her proposal to the deputies.
By law, the election of a deputy must take place within a month after the election of the Ombudsman himself. Given the parliamentary recess, it is unclear whether this deadline will be met, with the election expected to take place by September.