site.btaMPs to Debate on Second No Confidence Motion

Members of Parliament are set to debate the second no-confidence motion to the Zhelyazkov Cabinet on Wednesday, the National Assembly website reported.

The no-confidence motion was filed on April 10 by the Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) and Velichie parliamentary groups. The motion is based on claims of corruption in four or five specific sectoral policies, including the contract with Turkish energy company Botas.

Debates on the motion of no confidence are set to begin between three and seven days after the proposal is submitted, as per parliamentary rules. The vote is expected on Thursday, at least 24 hours after the debates conclude.

"We rely on meaningful debate and hope for a surprise in the support we receive in the chamber," MECh leader Radostin Vasilev said, after submitting the motion. He noted a prevailing sentiment that there might be different support or at least debates involving more than three parliamentary groups.

Article 89 of the Constitution says that a no-confidence motion is passed if more than half of all members of parliament vote in favour. If the motion is rejected, a new proposal on the same grounds cannot be made for six months.

On Tuesday Democracy for Rights and Freedoms (DRF)-MRF held a meeting and decided to leave the governing majority. A similar meeting occurred before the first no-confidence vote, but at that time, the party said it would continue to support the majority until the convergence report on Bulgaria was released. 

However, DRF-MRF said on Tuesday that they were invited into the governing majority as a guarantor of political stability and to help dismantle the Peevski model, [referring to Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski] which they claim has not happened. DRF-MRF also said they would seriously consider whether to support the second no-confidence vote.

GERB-UDF, BSP – United Left, and There Is Such a People (TISP) immediately responded. In a joint statement to the media, the three parties said they remain committed to the need for a regular government to implement policies supporting the rule of law, economic competitiveness, security, protection, and social rights of citizens.

"Despite the decision of the DRF, the coalition partners remain steadfast in our determination to deliver on the priorities and commitments we have assumed to Bulgarian society. We are adamant that Bulgarian citizens will not agree to new early parliamentary elections and expect from the parties in the National Assembly predictability, sustainability and working together to solve problems, not to create new crises," they said.

Earlier in the day, before DRF-MRF's decision was known, National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova commented that the parliament's work, although slow, was progressing and the no-confidence vote would not hinder it.

Last week, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said the no-confidence vote on "corruption" would be "a talking shop."

The no-confidence vote is not merely an attack on the government but a targeted attempt to block state operations and return to chaos and political turmoil, said BSP leader Atanas Zafirov at a briefing on Monday. "The chaos is over; we have a stable government," BSP-United Left Floor Leader Dragomir Stoynev said last week.

"The Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) parliamentary group does not support the no-confidence vote submitted by MECh," CC-DB Co-Floor Leader Nikolay Denkov said last week.

Vazrazhdane will support any no-confidence vote against this "criminal government," Vazrazhdane MP Petar Petrov said. Party leader Kostadin Kostadinov said the vote was organized by Vazrazhdane, but they "gentlemanly" allowed MECh to submit it because MECh supported them previously.

MRF – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski described the no-confidence vote submitted by MECH as "a waste of time."

"Any party that refuses to support the no-confidence vote is complicit in the genocide against Bulgarian business and entrepreneurship," Velichie Floor Leader Ivelin Mihaylov said. Velichie is among the co-sponsors of the no-confidence motion.

BTA notes that the first no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's government, initiated by Vazrazhdane over failures in the foreign policy sector, was unsuccessful. It was supported by 54 MPs, opposed by 150, with no abstentions.