Former Bulgarian Rulers Make New U-Turn on Parliament Boycott

Bulgarian former ruling party GERB will not nominate a vice-speaker of parliament and MPs to chair parliamentary committees, according to an official party press release.

The release in effect refutes an earlier statement by GERB vice-chair Tsvetan Tsvetanov that former Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva will be proposed as vice-speaker, while the party will request 1/3 of committee chairs.

Soon after the May convention of Bulgaria's 42nd National Assembly, GERB decided to boycott the work of the house.

But during the summer, they announced intentions to come back to control the work of MPs from other political groups.

According to the official release Friday, GERB will nominate members of parliamentary committees, but will not take part in leadership organs of Parliament.

"As the largest parliamentary group, we ought to have a Speaker from our ranks, not a deputy," stated GERB leader and former Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov.

"We do not want to legitimate the current configuration in Parliament, this new tripartite coalition," added he.

GERB have 97 MPs, against 84 and 36 for the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party and Movement for Rights and Freedoms, respectively.

The remaining 13 seats of Bulgaria's 240-seat Parliament go for nationalist party Ataka, on which the ruling parties have to rely when they need an absolte majority of more than 120 MPs.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!