Bulgaria Ruling Party: No Grounds for Snap Elections

A file photo shows parliamentary speaker Tsetska Tsacheva sharing an emotional moment with President Rosen Plevneliev shortly after his election last year. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria's ruling center-right party has ruled out the possibility of snap elections as forecast by the opposition in the wake of electricity, gas and food price hikes.

"There is no objective reason to hold early elections in Bulgaria because there is no political or parliamentary crisis, " parliamentary speaker Tsetska Tsacheva told TV 7 channel, widely known as the government mouthpiece.

"Bulgaria's citizens put their trust in GERB to make their life more comfortable. To make sure that their property and their life are safe. To make sure there is no political and economic turmoil in Bulgaria even though the global economic crisis is raging," she added.

According to Tsacheva during the three years since it is in office, GERB has kept its promises and lived up to people's expectations.

Bulgaria will hold snap elections before the end of the coming winter as the raise of the price of electricity and natural gas will exhaust citizens, according to opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms vice-chair Rushen Riza.

Sunday Riza and the liberal Movement's parliamentary group leader Yordan Tsonev spoke at a regional conference of the party in Varna.

"The new prices of electricity and natural gas will dramatically reduce trust in the ruling GERB party," argued Riza.

Bulgaria's state energy regulator has mandated a 13% hike in the price of electricity, effective July 1.

At the same time Tsonev forecast that if regular parliamentary elections are to be held in the summer of 2013, GERB will suffer a crushing defeat.

"I expect that the arrogance that GERB is currently showing while ruling Bulgaria will lead them to a complete election fiasco," stated Tsonev.

He further added that GERB must be very careful in revising Bulgaria's Electoral Code if it wants the next elections to be fully free and fair.

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