site.btaIva Miteva of There Is Such a People Elected Chair of 45th National Assembly

April 15 (BTA) - Iva Miteva MP of There Is Such a People
was elected Chairperson of the 45th National Assembly here on
Thursday. The vote was 160 in favour and none against. The 75
MPs of GERB abstained as they had declared in advance.

GERB's own candidate for the office, Tsveta Karayancheva,
garnered 75 votes in favour and 162 against.

The lawmakers voted by show of hands in alphabetical order,
according to rules of procedure adopted earlier at the sitting.

The new Chair was congratulated by her predecessor Karayancheva.

Taking over the chairmanship, Miteva said that transparency and
accountability must be guiding principles in the operation of
this National Assembly. The constitutional standards related to
parliamentary oversight, hearing the judicial authorities and
the bodies that are entirely or partially elected by Parliament
must be fleshed out. "I believe that the rights of the
individual and the dignity of the individual, elevated to the
status of paramount principle in the preamble to the
Constitution, will be respected by this National Assembly and
that we will keep in mind that Bulgaria being a democratic,
law-governed and social state depends on our actions," she
pointed out.

"I am thrilled to face you because of the trust you place in me.
 I realize the responsibility and your expectations to find the
most appropriate direction so as to respond to the challenges of
 the present complicated reality," Miteva went on to say.
"Voters expect us to deliver on our campaign platforms, to make
clear, predictable and stable laws that are not the product of a
 momentary whim but of solid reasoning and comprehensive
consideration," she said, quoting notable Bulgarian National
Revival figure Todor Ikonomov.

She called on the MPs to make efforts to talk to each other,
seek good solutions and adhere to parliamentary culture so as to
 be worthy representatives of the people.

Her acceptance speech was applauded.

Iva Miteva-Rupcheva was born in Razgrad (Northeastern Bulgaria)
on October 25, 1972. She graduated in Law from Sofia University
in 1996. She began her career at the Ministry of Justice in
1998. She was appointed at the National Assembly in 2000 and
worked her way up the administration from state expert to
director of the Legislative Activity and European Union Law
Directorate. In the latter capacity, she advised the Legal
Affairs Committee when bills were drafted and was part of teams
to ad hoc committees. She teaches law at New Bulgarian
University and is doing a doctoral thesis at the Institute of
State and Law with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She speaks
 English.

At the same sitting, six Deputy Chairpersons of the legislature
were elected, representing each parliamentary group: Tsveta
Karayancheva of GERB, Viktoria Vassileva of There Is Such a
People, Kristian Vigenin of BSP for Bulgaria, Mukaddes Nalbant
of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Atanas Atanassov of
Democratic Bulgaria, and Tatyana Doncheva of Rise Up! Thugs Out!

LN/LG



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