In brief
Sofia. The General Assembly of Judges elected Mimi Furnadzhieva and Sibila Simeonova as co‑chairs and formed an election commission with nine full members and seven alternates to oversee the Supreme Judicial Council elections. The election was backed by nominations from the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court.
In Sofia on Saturday, 31 October 2026, the General Assembly of Judges elected two co‑chairs and established a nine‑member election commission to supervise the forthcoming vote for the Supreme Judicial Council.
The assembly, meeting at 12:24 a.m. local time, followed a proposal from SCC President Galina Zaharova to appoint two co‑chairs, an arrangement not previously seen in the council’s history.
In the voting block, SCC Judge Mimi Furnadzhieva, nominated by Zaharova, and Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) Judge Sibila Simeonova, nominated by acting SAC President Vanya També, received the votes of 592 judges to 24 abstentions or opposition, securing their positions with a decisive margin.
Composition of the Election Commission
Concurrently, the assembly appointed a nine‑member election commission, with seven alternates, tasked with overseeing the electoral process of the Supreme Judicial Council. The commission’s full members were: Biser Troyanov and Kristiyana Genkovska of the SCC; Petar Mitev of the Varna District Court; Galya Ruseva of the Burgas District Court; Stela Dincheva of the SAC; Rositsa Tsvetkova of the Sofia City Administrative Court; Vera Tsvetkova of the Sofia Court of Appeal; Plamen Atanasov of the Varna District Court; and Rositsa Vasileva of the Plovdiv Regional Court.
The alternates were: Iliyana Stoilova of the Sofia Court of Appeal; Antoni Yordanov of the Sofia City Administrative Court; Nikolay Golchev of the Plovdiv Regional Court; Desislava Aleksieva of the Sofia Regional Court; Dimitar Mirchev and Evgeni Georgiev of the Sofia City Court; and Rositsa Velkova of the Sofia Regional Court.
Key Remarks and Context
During the proceedings, Zaharova emphasized the importance of bipartisan leadership, noting that the co‑chair structure would facilitate a balanced approach to council governance. The SAC President, however, publicly celebrated Simeonova’s appointment as a milestone for female representation in Bulgaria’s judiciary.
Critics of the arrangement, including several senior judges who abstained, have expressed concerns that a dual‑chair system could complicate decision‐making. Nonetheless, the assembly’s narrow approval reflects a broader trend toward institutional reforms within Bulgaria’s judicial system.
The newly formed commission will convene in the coming weeks to draft the electoral procedure, establish voting timelines, and ensure compliance with constitutional requirements. Its mandate includes oversight of candidate vetting, ballot integrity, and public disclosure of results.
Observers anticipate that the election of the Supreme Judicial Council, which shapes the composition of Bulgaria’s highest judicial bodies, will take place in late November, following the commission’s preparatory work. The outcome is expected to have lasting implications for the country’s judicial independence and administrative efficiency.
