Constitutional amendment

After sitting for more than fourteen hours on Tuesday, members of Bulgaria's parliamentary legal affairs committee adopted at second reading a set of amendments to the Electoral Code.

A meeting of Bulgaria's national council for trilateral cooperation is scheduled to take place in the building of the Council of Ministers on Monday.

The draft amendment to the Interior Ministry Act will be among the topics discussed by the council, which brings together representatives of the government, trade unions and employers' organisations,

Lawmakers have approved on a first reading legal amendments paving they way for judicial reforms.

The changes include new voting procedures at the top decision-making body of the judiciary, the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), which will be split into two parts, one for judges and one for prosecutors.

Irrespective of political affiliations, there is one issue on which there is an almost complete consensus in this country: Turkey needs a new constitution.

"Turkey needs a new constitution," the saying has gone since the day I was born. I am 34 years old now, and actually we have a new constitution; we have had new constitutions every 5-10 years anyway. 

In its latest report assessing the progress made under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), which was officially released on Wednesday, the European Commission called on Bulgaria to continue reform of the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS).

Tajikistan's parliament is considering a proposal to allow President Imomali Rakhmon to run for an unlimited number of terms, cementing his grip on power as others have done in the  Central Asian region. 

The Bulgarian parliament will discuss the amendments to the constitution concerning the reform of the judiciary at a second reading on Wednesday.

In order for the amendments to be adopted, ¾ of MPs or 180 lawmakers have to vote in favour.

At the first reading, which took place on September 23, 184 MPs voted in favour of the amendments.

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has again said Turkey's parliamentary system should be changed to a presidential one, referring to France's semi-presidential system as a good example for the country. 

Albania is preparing to change its constitution in December as part of an ambitious effort to reform the judicial system, widely considered as the most corrupt field in the country.

However, the main parties still have not agreed a common draft, jeopardizing the chances of success in passing the amendments in parliament.