Eurasia Press & News
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has again urged Veneta Markovska, who was recently elected a Constitutional Court judge, to withdraw.Markovska’s nomination to the Constitutional Court, following her election as one of two parliamentary candidates to serve on the Court, has caused controversy.
Markovska, a deputy chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court, who was elected to the Constitutional Court by parliament on October 31, has been accused of corruption and a conflict of interest.
Reports in Bulgarian media said that Markovska put pressure to have two police officers fired for having arrested a business partner of her son’s in 2010. The police officers were later re-instated.
As a judge in the Administrative Court, she is also alleged to have heard a case in which one side was represented by a lawyer who is a family friend with whom she jointly owns property.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has now called upon Markovska to withdraw. On Wednesday, he reiterated that his ruling centrist-right GERB party is only responsible for the election of Judge Anastas Anastasov, who was officially endorsed by the party.
He added that he did not know whether Markovska would take the oath of office as a court judge on Thursday.
“I am sure that the Prosecutor’s Office will quickly carry out an investigation and determine whether Veneta Markovska is innocent or not,” Borisov stated.
The Markovska case has prompted the European Commission to warn that it could publish an emergency report about Bulgaria as part of the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Corruption and Organized Crime.
Markovska has denied having attempted to illicitly use her influence, albeit without failing to produce a coherent alternative narrative regarding the events.
