site.btaCoalition Government of GERB and United Patriots Will Carry On - Senior MP

105 POLITICS-PARLIAMENT-UNITED PATRIOTS-ISKREN VESSELINOV

Coalition Government of GERB
and United Patriots Will Carry On -
Senior MP


July 26 (BTA) - The coalition government of GERB and the United Patriots will continue to exist without any changes to the governance formula, United Patriots co-floor leader Iskren Vesselinov told journalists in Parliament on Friday. He spoke after Thursday's expulsion of three MPs from Ataka, a member party of the power-sharing United Patriots coalition.

Asked how the ruling coalition will continue to govern without the backing of a parliamentary majority after Ataka MPs Volen Siderov, Dessislav Choukolov and Pavel Shopov were expelled, Vesselinov said that there have been minority governments too.

He said that the United Patriots coalition will continue down the course that has been laid out. "It will honour the coalition agreement with GERB,"said Vesselinov.

According to him, Ataka may sign a separate agreement with GERB and continue to support the government.

Of the remaining four Ataka MPs - Yavor Notev, Stanislav Stanilov. Margarita Nikolova and Nikolai Alexandrov, United Patriots co-floor chair Valentin Kassabov said that they may either choose to stay with the coalition or leave it.

"We have good relations with them. They may stay and join us. It is up to them," he said.

On Thursday the Ataka party was expelled from the United Patriots power-sharing coalition. The decision was made by the other two members of the three-party coalition: the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria and VMRO after internal contradictions and tensions plagued the coalition for many months. IG/PP
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