Bulgarian MPs Debate No Confidence Vote against Cabinet

The no confidence vote, submitted in the Bulgarian Parliament by the opposition, needs 121 MPs voting "for" in order to pass. File photo

The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament are debating Thursday the no confidence vote against the cabinet over the failure of the anti-crisis policy.

The vote was submitted last week by the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, on the grounds of overall failure in the economy, anti-European policies in the education and innovation sectors, failure in the absorption of EU funds, impoverishment of people and problems in local administrations.

"The goal here is not to replace certain ministers, but to replace a failed anti-crisis program, and have snap elections," according to the motives, which have been signed by 68 BSP and DPS MPs.

On Wednesday, the opposition asked to postpone the debates in order to not have them on the same day as the Day of Mourning for the 8 victims of the bus crash on Trakiya highway, but the request was rejected by the majority.

This is the second no confidence vote requested by the opposition. The first one, in October 2010, was over the health care policy.

Under the Parliamentary code, the actual voting is going to be held 24 hours after the debates.

The vote will pass with 121 Members of the Parliament being "for." Together, BSP and DPS have 75 MPs. The ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party has majority with the vote of 6 independent MPs. The right-wing Blue Coalition announced they will not take part in the debates and the vote because they did not want to support BSP and DPS nor the cabinet.

The far-right, nationalist Ataka, with 17 MPs, are yet to declare their position on the vote.

"I don't even know there will be a vote. I cannot explain this impudence – to ask a vote, the same people who know what they did during the previous cabinet term; to ask a vote against a cabinet building roads, accelerating the absorption of the EU funds...," Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, said Tuesday in the western city of Pernik where he was launching the opening of a repaired road.

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