Transparency International Bulgaria, together with 11 other civil society organizations, sent an official statement to the newly elected ombudsman, Ms Velislava Delcheva, in which we call for a public, transparent, and competitive selection process for her deputy.
We call for the following steps to be taken:
- – Issuing a public call for nominations
– An independent commission should be established to evaluate the candidates
– A public hearing should be held.
The law requires the ombudsman to submit a candidate for the position of deputy ombudsman to Parliament for a vote within one month of being elected. The law also requires that the nomination be made “following a public, transparent, and competitive nomination and selection process.”
Although the law does not specify exactly how this procedure should be carried out, we have the positive example of the 2016 selection of a deputy ombudsman, when there were nine candidates, all nominated by nongovernmental organizations. This best practice should be preserved and built upon.
The selection of a deputy ombudsman is the first test of independence, integrity, transparency, and commitment to democratic processes for any newly elected ombudsman.