The Bulgarian National Assembly has voted to strike the governance programme of the outgoing majority, proposed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, off the weekly agenda of parliament. The BSP was handed the third, and last exploratory mandate for forming a government by President Rumen Radev.

• “BSP for Bulgaria” accepts the third government-forming mandate

At the proposal of the opposition, with 119 votes in favour, 106 against and one abstained, and after a re-vote, the bill submitted by the Bulgarian Socialist Party for approval of parliament’s legislative programme for the period up until December 2022, was struck off the National Assembly’s agenda. 

Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Jordan Tzonev described the BSP’s idea to push the responsibility for the fiasco of the last mandate for the formation of a government onto the current parliament, as legal nihilism. “Not to mention the fact that conditions for the formation of a government is not something that can be adopted by a parliamentary decision,” Tzonev said.

Desislava Atanasova from GERB commented that the BSP’s move was a PR ruse. “There will be no cabinet, this legislative programme will not be implemented either,” the biggest opposition party GERB says.

“On Thursday we shall hand the mandate back to President Rumen Radev as unfulfilled. GERB, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Vazrazhdane do not want there to be laws, they do not want there to be an energy sector, what they want is chaos and lawlessness,” Georgi Svilenski, chairman of the Bulgarian Socialist Party parliamentary group said at a briefing in parliament.

“The danger the country faces from this day on comes from those who did not give their support to Bulgaria’s having a functioning government, who sabotaged and who struck the legislative programme, put forward by the BSP, from the agenda of the National Assembly. Vazrazhdane are acting as a crutch to GERB, There is Such a People - as a crutch to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms,” Georgi Svilenski said, and went on to accuse the opposition of wanting to take advantage of the corruption in the country.

“Under these circumstances, and in accordance with the decision of the BSP National Council, we shall return the mandate tomorrow,” Georgi Svilenski said.

Asked when early parliamentary elections can be scheduled, he stated that was in the hands of the president.

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov