site.btaUPDATED Government Majority Mulls Nominations for Central Bank Governor

On Wednesday - the last day for nominating a governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Democratic Bulgaria Floor Leader Hristo Ivanov, speaking to journalists, called on the partners in the government majority to agree on a single nomination and thus avoid intra-coalition tensions.

Continue the Change Floor Leader Andrey Gurov is his parliamentary group's nominee for central bank governor, he confirmed to reporters in the National Assembly. For their part, There Is Such a People (TISP) have nominated parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee Chair Lyubomir Karimansky for the post. TISP leader Slavi Trifonov noted in a Facebook post that Karimansky is properly qualified and "did not pop up in the last minute".

"Talks regarding the nominations are underway. The separate parties in the coalition must discuss all nominations in their parliamentary groups, and a decision will be taken until the end of the day," Gurov said.

He was adamant that this is not a divisive issue for the coalition. "As we have already shown before, all decisions come after normal discussions," the MP pointed out.

"In my personal opinion, the best option is to have a single nomination for BNB governor," Rumen Gechev MP of BSP for Bulgaria said. He argued that if the coalition comes up with two candidates, the election may be decided by the opposition. He called on the coalition partners "to sit down and decide on the nomination". Gechev said that professional accomplishments should be the principal criterion and the selection should not be based on the ego of a candidate. He believes that an expert meeting should be organized within the coalition to consider the vision about a central bank governor.

Asked whether there are tensions within the coalition, Gechev said: "I don't know what do you mean by tensions, but it is certainly a challenge."

The opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms will wait to see all BNB governor nominations, after which the parliamentary group will meet and decide about support, MRF Floor Leader Jordan Tzonev commented for the media. Tzonev said that the MRF will not have a nomination of its own.

According to the rules of procedure for nomination of a central bank governor, the nominations must be submitted in writing to the Budget and Finance Committee care of the National Assembly Chair.