Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Parliament votes in second reading to allow Bulgarians with dual citizenship to become MPs and ministers

Photo: БТА

MPs adopted amendments to the Constitution in the second of three readings. One of them limits the President's powers in choosing the composition of the caretaker government. The president will now have to appoint a prime minister from a list of people, and after criticism the head of the Supreme Court of Cassation was excluded from the list. The caretaker prime minister will therefore be chosen from among the speaker of the National Assembly, the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the president or deputy president of the National Audit Office and the ombudsman or his deputy. If all of the above refuse to take office, the caretaker cabinet will be elected by the National Assembly.
The majority in the National Assembly also approved other important changes to the country's Basic Law, allowing Bulgarian citizens who also hold another citizenship to be elected as ministers and MPs. A requirement of having lived in the country for 18 months will apply to MPs, but not to ministers. 
"Of all the EU countries, Bulgaria is the only one that does not give Bulgarian citizens this right. The time has come," argued Antoaneta Tsoneva of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB). "They have drilled a huge hole in the national security system," said Atanas Zafirov of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). The opposition said that it would file a complaint against the constitutional changes.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Another cloudy day with precipitation

In the next 24 hours, the cloudiness over the country will remain significant. In the afternoon, rainfalls are expected in many places. The lowest temperatures will be between 3° and 8°C; in Sofia - about 5°C. The highest will be..

published on 4/3/25 7:10 PM
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgiev, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discuss partnership

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They met on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels. Georgiev and Rubio discussed the strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the United..

published on 4/3/25 6:21 PM

King Abdullah II of Jordan is on official visit to Sofia

With an official ceremony in St. Alexander Nevsky Square in Sofia, President Rumen Radev has welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Bulgarian head of state , BTA..

published on 4/3/25 4:30 PM