Petar Belchev Elected Head of Sofia Regional Prosecutor's Office

The Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) has elected Petar Belchev as the new administrative director of the Sofia Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Belchev was backed by 17 votes, with one vote against, and five abstentions.

The other candidate, Asen Hristov, prosecutor at the Sofia Regional Prosecutor's Office, was backed by one VSS member, with six votes against and 16 abstentions.

Prior to Thursday's vote, Belchev was deputy head of the Sofia Regional Prosecutor's Office and spokesperson of the entity.

The Sofia Regional Prosecutor's Office has a staff of around 180 prosecutors which supervised over 40 000 cases in 2013.

The vacancy opened in January 2014, after the incumbent, Hristo Dinev, moved up one level in the hierarchy, becoming head of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).