According to Art. 8 and 10 (2) of the amended Act, the Ombudsman is elected by the National Assembly in a transparent and public way by a majority vote of more than half (1/2) of the voting national representatives. Further, Art. 10 (1) provides that the proposal for election of Ombudsman may be made by national representatives, parliamentary groups and non-profit legal entities in the public interest.
The SCA is of the view that the selection process outlined in the Law would be strengthened by explicitly requiring the advertisement of vacancies, and by describing the means by which broad consultation and/or participation of civil society in the process is to be achieved.
Further, Art. 11(1) provides for the election of the Deputy Ombudsman by the National Assembly with an open vote, following a public, transparent and competitive nomination and selection procedure.
The ORB reports that, prior to the election of the Deputy Ombudsman, the Ombudsman made a public invitation to civil society organizations to nominate candidates, and that several such nominations were made. Nevertheless, the SCA is again of the view that the selection process outlined in the Law would be strengthened by explicitly requiring the advertisement of vacancies, and by describing the means by which broad consultation and/or participation of civil society in the process is to be achieved.

It is critically important to ensure the formalization of a clear, transparent and participatory selection and appointment process for an NHRI’s decision-making body in relevant legislation, regulations or binding administrative guidelines, as appropriate.
A process that promotes merit-based selection and ensures pluralism is necessary to ensure the independence of, and public confidence in, the senior leadership of an NHRI.

The SCA encourages the ORB to advocate for the formalization and application of a broad and transparent process that includes requirements to:
a) Publicize vacancies broadly;
b) Maximize the number of potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups;
c) Promote broad consultation and/or participation in the application, screening, selection and appointment process;
d) Assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined, objective and publicly available criteria; and
e) Select members to serve in their own individual capacity rather than on behalf of the organization they represent.
The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.1 and to its General Observation 1.8 on ‘Selection and appointment of the decision-making body of NHRIs’.