Bulgaria Convenes Its 42nd Parliament
Domestic | May 21, 2013, Tuesday // 08:06| views
The building of the Parliament in downtown Sofia, file photo
Bulgaria's 42nd General Assembly is convening for the first time on Tuesday, May 21.
The Parliament is summoned by President Rosen Plevneliev with a decree issued on May 17 under article 75 of the Constitution.
The sitting starts at 10 am.
Again, according to the Constitution, it will be opened by the oldest Member of the Parliament, who is Bulgarian movie and theater celebrity, Stefan Danailov.
The oath of office is: "I pledge allegiance to the Republic of Bulgaria and swear to obey the Constitution and the laws of the country and to be led in all my actions by the interests of the people."
After saying the text, the MPs will sign their oath declarations. Then, the anthems of Bulgaria and of the European Union will be played and the Presidents will address the nation and the MPs. Representatives of political parties in the Parliament will make statements as well.
The first sitting will elect the Speaker of the Parliament, who will also deliver a speech.
After that, the MPs will elect the Deputy Speaker and a temporary parliamentary code. They will also take a group picture outside the main entrance.
The parties that overcame the 4% threshold to win seats in the May 12 general elections are: the center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party of former Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, and their self-proclaimed arch enemies - the far-right nationalist Ataka (Attack).
According to the final count, DPS and BSP together will have 120 seats in the 240-seat unicameral Parliament. Ataka is yet to state whether it would support these two parties.
Ataka, BSP and DPS have all declared that they would not negotiate with GERB, which narrowly won the election, but will be unable to form a government.
Plevneliev has stated on several occasions that a new government should be formed as soon as possible.
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