Did "We Continue the Change" Impose Andrey Tsekov as Parliament Speaker Candidate on WCC-DB?

Yesterday, the "We Continue the Change" party, part of the "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" coalition (WCC-DB) successfully pushed forward the candidacy of Andrey Tsekov, former Minister of Regional Development, for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly, Club Z reported. Despite initial expectations that the coalition would re-nominate Atanas Atanasov, leader of "Democrats for Strong Bulgaria" (DSB), which is part of the WCC-DB coalition, the DSB deputies withdrew from the voting process, leading to Tsekov's nomination with 18 votes in favor and 12 against from "Yes Bulgaria."

Atanasov had previously stated his readiness for re-nomination, but the absence of DSB representatives during the vote left the path open for Tsekov. Meanwhile, "Yes Bulgaria," also member of the WCC-DB coalition, argued that the coalition should not propose its own candidate, even though they considered former Minister of Justice Atanas Slavov a strong candidate.

GERB party leader Boyko Borissov, in contrast, proposed Raya Nazaryan for the chairman role. Borissov also suggested that, in the event of a government formed with the participation of WCC-DB, TISP, and BSP, Nazaryan could be replaced by a candidate nominated by the coalition partners.