The opposition parties – the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), There Is Such a People (ITN) and Vazrazhdane submitted a joint appeal to the Constitutional Court over the election of the new constitutional judges, said Petar Petrov from Vazrazhdane at a briefing in parliament.

“We believe that the decisions run counter to the principles on which the Constitution is based. We also believe that their 9-year term of office is also unconstitutional,” Petar Petrov said.

• President Radev takes the election of constitutional judges to court

President Rumen Radev also submitted an appeal to the Constitutional Court with the same motives. The new constitutional judges Desislava Atanasova and Borislav Belazelkov are expected to be sworn in on Friday. There is no deadline for the Constitutional Court to deliver its decision on the appeals submitted.

After a heated discussion, the National Assembly relieved Desislava Atanasova of her duties as member of parliament. Atanasova formerly chaired the parliamentary group of GERB/SDS. Boyko Borissov, MP and leader of GERB party, will be taking over as head of the group.