Bulgaria's Parliament to Reattempt Debates on No-Confidence Vote

On Wednesday, the sitting was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum (121 MPs in attendance), after center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) refused to register for voting. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Parliament will make a second attempt to launch debates on the no-confidence motion against the socialist-led coalition government headed by Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski.

On Wednesday, the sitting was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum (121 MPs in attendance), after center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) refused to register for voting, thereby boycotting the discussion on the no-confidence vote they initiated a week ago, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).

The deadline for holding a debate on the no-confidence motion expires on Thursday.

In a letter to GERB leader and former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Parliament Speaker Mihail Mikov reminded that the repeated lack of a quorum would technically mean abandoning plans for the no-confidence motion.

GERB, however, replied that they would be glad to register for voting on Thursday, provided that the members of nationalist party Ataka returned from their trip to Brussels and showed up in Parliament.

Borisov further accused the current government of being dependent on nationalist party Ataka.

In order for the no-confidence motion to pass, it has to be supported by 121 MPs. The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) have 120 MPs, but Delyan Peevski is not taking part in the work of the Parliament due to his undecided MP status after on June 14 he was elected Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the Parliament cancelled the appointment five days later.

GERB initiated a no-confidence motion against the socialist-led coalition government over its failed investment planning policy. GERB MPs claimed that the newly established Investment Ministry was of no practical benefit and had only been wasting taxpayers' money on superfluous administration for its four months in existence.

BSP and DPS refuted the accusations as absurd.

The chances of the no-confidence vote succeeding are negligible.

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