Stalemate in Bulgarian Parliament: Speaker Election Fails, Temporary Leader Proposed

The National Assembly in Bulgaria failed to elect a Speaker after two rounds of voting, leading to a deadlock. In the first round, candidates Natalia Kiselova, Nikoleta Kuzmanova, Petar Petrov, Raya Nazaryan, and Andrey Tsekov all failed to secure a majority. Consequently, only Raya Nazaryan, backed by GERB, and Andrey Tsekov, supported by WCC-DB, advanced to the second round. However, both candidates received only 68 votes each.

Nazaryan, the GERB candidate, received votes exclusively from her party’s MPs, totaling 68, with 121 votes against her from WCC-DB, Revival, DPS-New Beginning, five members of BSP - United Left, TISP, and MECH. Meanwhile, 50 MPs abstained, including 16 from WCC-DB, 15 from BSP - United Left, and deputies from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms. Tsekov, nominated by WCC-DB, also received 68 votes in favor from his party, the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, and MECH, while 86 MPs opposed his candidacy.

Following the stalemate, Toshko Yordanov from "There Is Such a People" (TISP) proposed a temporary solution to address the deadlock: appoint the oldest member of Parliament as an interim Speaker until a consensus is reached. Yordanov’s proposal is set to be considered by MPs on Wednesday.

Commenting on the situation, Asen Vassilev from WCC-DB expressed that the lack of a clear majority was anticipated. He advocated for a legislative program that could unify the Assembly over the next three months to ensure effective governance.

Yordanov noted that his temporary solution had support from BSP, MECH, and the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, while Revival and WCC-DB requested additional time for discussions. He emphasized that no substantial talks about government formation had taken place yet, suggesting that constructive discussions could begin once the interim Speaker is elected. According to Yordanov, the current political challenges stem from recent amendments to the Constitution, which he described as problematic and in need of rectification.