site.btaAlliance for Rights and Freedoms' Ademov: Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning Support Keeps Cabinet Afloat

The no-confidence motion was submitted on September 12 by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB) and Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh), who accuse the government of a systematic failure in maintaining public order and security, ensuring justice, and tackling the erosion of state institutions. The motion is co-signed by MPs from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms. Though not among the initiators, parties Vazrazhdane and Velichie have signaled their intention to support the motion in plenary.

Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) MP Hassan Ademov said in Parliament on Wednesday that Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s government survives solely on the support of Delyan Peevski and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning. ARF also co-signed last week’s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s cabinet, he added.

Ademov said that the aim of any no-confidence vote is to topple the government. He said that although this seems impossible at present, opposition parties are unable to spark a meaningful debate with those in power to expose methods of covert governance that serve private interests, not the public good. Ademov added that finding alternatives is ultimately up to voters, whose choices suggest possible formulas for governing.

He argued that another purpose of the vote is to reveal fundamental problems in governance, forcing coalition partners, who technically comprise a minority government, to face the electoral consequences of continued support, which he described as significant. Ademov noted that all governing parties understand that staying in power comes with serious reputational and electoral costs.

Ademov reminded Parliament that as early as a year ago, ARF had warned the “long arm of the captured State” would become a problem for the whole country, not just for its critics.

He said that a sense of self-sufficiency and power structure reflexes in the past had led to outrageous statements from those in power, such as flippantly calling for the return of police brutality.

Ademov pointed out that the current government had allowed more and more sectors of State governance to be taken over and felt powerless to resist. He argued that the reasons for the no-confidence vote offered clear proof of serious problems within justice and internal affairs.

Finally, Ademov said that the governing parties’ tendency to dismiss no-confidence votes as a waste of time betrayed their anxiety and fear. He stressed that this vote united all opposition parties, despite their differences. 

Ademov said nearly 80 pages of justifications had been prepared, based on both specific facts and irrefutable evidence that the government has failed to tackle the instruments of a captured State. He concluded that the vote had inspired protest energy.