site.btaUPDATED Parliament Fails to Elect Chair, Again

Once again, Parliament failed to elect a Chair on Friday. It was the fifth attempt at the end of the second week of work of the new Parliament even though it is technically the first sitting of the new legislature. Electing a Chair is the first thing for a new Parliament to do, according to the Constitution, and the country’s basic law does not provide for a scenario in which the MPs fail to accomplish that.

This Parliament was elected at snap general elections on October 27.

The first round of voting for a Chair was with four nominees: Raya Nazaryan of GERB, Silvi Kirilov of There Is Such a People, Natalia Kisselova of BSP-United Left and Petar Petrov of Vazrazhdane. Nazaryan and Kirilov reached a run-off but neither won the votes needed to be elected. 

TISP's nominee Silvi Kirilov, who chaired the first sitting as the oldest MP, received 101 votes in favour, 99 MPs were against and 37 abstained. GERB's nominee Raya Nazaryan was supported by 68 MPs, 150 voted against and 20 abstained.

The first sitting of the 51st National Assembly will resume on Wednesday, November 27 at 11:00 am, Kirilov announced.