site.btaParliament Will Not Reintroduce Conscription, MRF Leader Peevski Says

The National Assembly will not reintroduce conscription, although President Rumen Radev has suggested the contrary, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Chair Delyan Peevski said in a media statement released by the party press office on Friday.

Radev has called for a debate on whether young Bulgarians need to receive at least basic military training.

Peevski stated: "We are concerned that in the days remaining until the new Parliament is constituted and negotiations for a new government get underway, Radev is trying again to stir up fears and tensions in society by speaking about a mobilization reserve and a reintroduction of conscription."

Peevski argued: "Only the Bulgarian Parliament can make such decisions, and we have stated on more than one occasion that this will not be allowed. We hear the voice of the people very clearly, and we are adamant that young Bulgarians will not do compulsory military service."

He noted that the Constitution has very clear definitions about the powers of the institutions. "We want to remind Radev again that he should resist the temptation to trample upon the basic law driven by personal political ambitions, and should fulfill his constitutional obligations," Peevski said.