Bulgaria Socialists: New Snap Polls if Nationalists Boycott Parliament

Sergei Stanishev, leader of BSP and the Party of Eurpean Socialsts, PES, photo by BGNES

Sergei Stanishev, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, has suggested that a potential refusal of nationalist party Ataka to participate in the work of Parliament will lead to new snap elections.

Speaking Wednesday after a one-hour emergency meeting of BSP, Stanishev, as cited by dnevnik.bg echoed the opinion of Parliament Chair Mihail Mikov that the fate of Bulgaria's 42nd National Assembly was in the hands of Ataka.

The extraordinary meeting of BSP MPs was organized after the cancellation of Wednesday's sitting of Parliament over the lack of quorum caused by the absence of MPs of center-right party GERB and nationalist party Ataka.

Asked to specify how long BSP would take to announce preparations for new elections after Ataka's leader Volen Siderov presented his stance, Stanishev said they would respond within 24 to 48 hours.

Stanishev noted that the protesters were not a problem for them unlike the behavior of Ataka and the blockade in front of the Parliament building.

Asked whether BSP was ready to back Ataka's demand for launching an impeachment procedure for Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in order for the nationalist MPs to return to Parliament, Stanishev suggested that it would be a wrong move to start an inter-institutional war at the current stage.

Meanwhile, Sofia is to host two anti-government demonstrations on the 13th consecutive day of protests.

The first protest took place Monday morning in front of the Parliament building, with some 1000 people in attendance, intensive booing, and chants of "Mafia!", "Resign!" and "Thrash!".

The second rally in Sofia is to start at 6:30 on Independence square.

Public discontent spiked in response to the appointment of notorious media mogul Delyan Peevski as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS), but the protesters were not appeased by the subsequent cancellation of the decision and went on to demand the resignation of the socialist-led cabinet of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski over ties with oligarchs, as well as Election Code amendments aimed at guaranteeing greater civic participation in government.

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