Bulgarian Politics: WCC-DB Backs Silvi Kirilov for Temporary Speaker Amid Parliamentary Stalemate

"We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) announced their decision to support "There Is Such a People" (TISP)'s proposal to temporarily appoint the oldest member of parliament, Silvi Kirilov, as Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament. The coalition leaders stated they would withdraw their candidate, Andrey Tsekov, and called on other political formations to do the same.

WCC-DB emphasized the need for parliamentary functionality, with coalition co-chair Atanas Atanasov describing the situation as absurd. "It is concerning that the highest body of state power cannot operate. We must overcome this parliamentary crisis," he remarked.

Coalition leader Kiril Petkov criticized GERB's approach, claiming they lacked leadership and clarity on how to resolve the parliamentary deadlock. Petkov noted that GERB omitted key conditions from the declaration, such as objections to Borislav Sarafov's appointment as chief prosecutor by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) with an expired mandate, and measures addressing the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Asen Vassilev highlighted that TISP had signed the "sanitary cordon" declaration and committed to passing significant anti-corruption legislation. This, he stated, influenced WCC-DB’s decision to support Kirilov’s temporary appointment.

Petkov also pointed to what he described as GERB leader Boyko Borissov’s dependency on Delyan Peevski, accusing Borissov of avoiding a leadership meeting and lacking a plan for the parliament. "He expressed no readiness to remove Peevski’s influence or provide a direction forward," Petkov said.

Bozhidar Bozhanov of WCC-DB clarified that backing a technical speaker is not an alternative majority search but an attempt to ensure parliamentary functionality. "This is not an excuse for GERB’s irresponsibility," he stated.