The runoff election for six members of the Supreme Judicial Council from the judicial quota has concluded. After the polling stations closed, the counting of paper ballots and the consolidation of the protocols began.
All 21 candidates admitted to the procedure took part in the repeat vote. A total of 2,275 judges were eligible to vote. Under the rules, if the required majority is not achieved in the runoff either, the six candidates who receive the most votes will be considered elected.
The first round produced no elected candidates
The repeat vote was held after 1,870 judges voted on November 7, but no candidate received more than half of the valid votes. A total of 1,857 valid votes and 13 invalid ballots were recorded.
Maria Terziyska received the most support in the first round, with 910 votes. She was followed by Svetlana Kalinova with 689 votes, Daniela Aleksandrova with 655, Veselka Zlatеva-Kozhuharova with 623, Vasil Petkov with 605, and Nadya Pelovska-Dilkova with 551 votes.
The chair of the Electoral Commission, Biser Troyanov, a judge at the Supreme Court of Cassation, said that the first election had proceeded “calmly, without any significant violations of the electoral rules”. He described the direct participation of judges as important for judicial self-governance and the legitimacy of the election.
Results expected to be announced
After the counting is completed, the Electoral Commission must rule on the regularity of the runoff and announce the results for each candidate. The decision and the protocols from the polling stations will be published by the Supreme Judicial Council.
The election of the judicial quota is part of the procedure for forming a new composition of the SJC. The judges elect six representatives, the prosecutors have already elected four, while the election of the representative of the investigating magistrates and of the members from the parliamentary quota is still pending.
Source: bnrnews.bg