The National Assembly Thursday approved, with 180 votes in favour, none against, and 16 abstentions, the procedural rules for nominating and electing the next Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). The decision was the first item on the agenda of Thursday’s plenary session.
The rules, adopted by the parliamentary Committee on Culture and Media on October 23, set out the conditions and procedures for submitting nominations and conducting the election. The current Director General of BTA, Kiril Valchev, will complete his term on January 27, 2026. According to Article 12, paragraph 1 of the BTA Act, the National Assembly must elect a new Director General two months before the incumbent’s term expires.
Under the approved rules, nominations for Director General may be submitted in writing by parliamentary groups or individual MPs to the Committee on Culture and Media, via the Speaker of the National Assembly, within seven days of the decision’s adoption. The Committee will then hold a public hearing for all eligible candidates.
The new Director General will be elected by a majority of more than half of the MPs present. If no candidate receives the required majority, the National Assembly will launch a new procedure for the election.
The election of the BTA Director General will be broadcast live on the Parliament’s website, as decided by the MPs.
Within one month of their election, the new Director General must submit a declaration of compatibility in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act and the BTA Act.
Angel Yanchev MP (Vazrazhdane) noted that the nomination period should have been kept at three weeks and not be reduced to one week. He also said that Kiril Valchev would likely be nominated again, possibly by GERB and perhaps with BSP’s support, and that there may be no other candidates. He said that while BTA is the best managed public media outlet in Bulgaria in recent years, it is important to have diversity and multiple candidates in the election procedure. Parliament Approves Rules for Election of New BTA Director THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-06 09:17:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law