“In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Ombudsman is elected by a 2/3 majority vote of the National Assembly after a proposal of candidates by the President.
The Ombudsman reports that, in practice, the call for applications is made public on the Official Gazette and on the website of the Ombudsman. In addition, it reports that the President consults representatives of the political parties before submitting a proposal to the National Assembly.
The SCA is of the view that the process enshrined Act is not sufficiently broad and transparent.
In particular, it does not:
- require the advertisement of vacancies for members; and
- promote broad consultation and/or participation in the application, screening, selection, and appointment process for all members.”
The SCA encourages the Ombudsman to advocate for the formalization and application of a process that includes requirements to:
- Publicize vacancies broadly;
- Maximize the number of potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups and educational qualifications;
- Promote broad consultation and / or participation in the application, screening, selection and appointment process; and
- Assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined, objective and publicly-available criteria.