Candidates for Bulgaria’s Ombudsman Position Announced

The six candidates for the position of Ombudsman of Bulgaria have been published on the National Assembly’s website. They are Anton Stankov, Mariya Mateva, Dzhema Grozdanova, Dimitar Margaritov, Maya Manolova, and Velislava Delcheva, CE Report quotes BTA

The election process began after Parliament adopted rules on February 13, 2024, with a 28-day nomination period. Nominations were submitted by MPs, parliamentary groups, and NGOs working for the public good.

Candidate Profiles:

• Anton Stankov, nominated by the Bulgarian School of Politics Dimitry Panitza, is a former justice minister (2001–2005).

• Mariya Mateva, nominated by the Bulgarian Red Cross, is Vice-Chair of the Commission for Personal Data Protection.

• Dzhema Grozdanova, nominated by the National Patients’ Organization, is a doctor and former GERB MP (2009–2020).

• Dimitar Margaritov, nominated by the Active Consumers Association, chaired the Commission for Consumer Protection (2015–2022) and was briefly Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry.

• Maya Manolova, backed by 23 civil organizations, was the national Ombudsman (2015–2019) and a former MP.

• Velislava Delcheva, nominated by GERB-UDF MPs, is an expert at the Ministry of Justice and former coordinator for Bulgaria in the USAID Rule of Law program.

The Ombudsman is elected by Parliament for a five-year term, with the possibility of one re-election. The position became vacant on April 10, 2024, following the resignation of former Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva, who was elected as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights.