site.btaUPDATED Vazrazhdane to Table Vote of No Confidence against Caretaker Cabinet

The parliamentary group of Vazrazhdane has prepared a draft resolution for a vote of no confidence against the caretaker Cabinet, as Vazrazhdane believes that this Cabinet is dominated by GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), Vazrazhdane Secretary Iskra Mihaylova said in Parliament here on Wednesday. Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov reported that so far, his party has collected 67 signatures to back the proposed vote, which according to his party is necessary, because a Cabinet under the influence of GERB and the MRF "would corrupt the election process" in June.

Bulgaria will be voting for national and for European Parliament on June 9.

President Rumen Radev commented for the press during a public appearance that it is "impossible in a legal sense" to have a no-confidence vote against a caretaker cabinet.

The no-confidence vote will be supported by the Bulgarian Socialist Party.

Mihaylova also addressed Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) to tell them that they are welcome to back the vote, if they really want to show themselves as a strong opposition that no longer wants to see GERB and the MRF's model in power. She pointed out that Vazrazhdane, CC-DB and the Socialist Party have enough votes to prevent the current Cabinet from organizing the elections.

Asked in Parliament about the vote, CC-DB Co-Chair Kiril Petkov said that he would gladly support it, were it not for the fact that it was not constitutionally justified.

Pavela Mitova MP of There Is Such a People (TISP) told reporters here on Wednesday that her party sees the vote of no confidence as legally unjustified for the time being. She was adamant that TISP never takes actions for political reasons, as the actions must be legally justified.

As per the Constitution, a motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers shall require seconding by at least one-fifth of the Members of the National Assembly, i.e. 48 MPs of the total number of 240. To be passed, the motion shall require a majority of more than half of the votes of all National Assembly Members. Even though it is not expressly stated in the Constitution, the no-confidence procedure set out in the constitutional chapter on Parliament, appears to apply only for a Parliament-appointed government and not for a caretaker government, which is appointed by the President.

This opinion is shared by three constitutional law professors who spoke on Bulgarian National Radio on Wednesday. One of them Natalia Kiselova, argued that the body which is authorized to relieve of office is the one that appoints it - which in the case of the caretaker Cabinet is the President. Two other constitutional law professors, Orlin Kolev and Hristo Ormandjiev, agree that it is impossible to move for a vote of no-confidence in a caretaker government.