Leave of Absence of the Candidates

(1) (Amend. - SG 39/16, in force from 26.05.2016) A candidate who acts as a government or local body or holds an office in the administration of a government or local body, except for a candidate for a Municipal councillor, shall use either unpaid service leave of absence or paid annual leave in the period from the registration to the announcement of the election results.

(2) A candidate for a Municipal councillor, who holds government office, shall use a leave of absence for the days on which he or she participates in election campaign events.

(3) The leave of absence shall be recognized as length of employment or civil service and as a contribution period for retirement purposes.

(4) If a registration is deleted, the leave of absence shall be terminated as from the day of the deletion. Where a deletion is revoked, the leave of absence shall be regarded as uninterrupted.

(5) The provisions under Para. 1 shall not apply to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime-Ministers, the members of Parliament, the President and the Vice President of the Republic. Their powers shall be sustained even after their registration as candidates.

(6) The provisions under Para. 1, 3, 4 and 5 shall also apply to candidates for members of the European Parliament from the Republic of Bulgaria, who hold one of the positions referred to in Art. 389.