Bulgarian parliament rejects government proposal of party that won election

3 Jul. () –

The Bulgarian National Assembly on Wednesday rejected the government proposal of the right-wing Citizens for European Development in Bulgaria (GERB), the winner of the last elections, thus further deepening the political crisis that the country has been dragging on with six elections in just three years.

The GERB proposal, with Rosen Zhelyazkov at the head of a possible government, was approved by 98 votes in favour and 138 against, with two abstentions, after three and a half hours of heated debate, Bulgarian media reported.

GERB was only partially supported by its populist partners in the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), with fourteen of its MPs voting against and one abstaining. This defeat means that one of the three attempts by the parties to form a government to avoid going to new elections, which should be called in the autumn of this year, has been exhausted.

Before the session began, Zhelyazkov argued that the main task of the proposed cabinet was to restore governance in order to overcome at least the lack of trust and legitimacy of the institutions in the eyes of the Bulgarian people, warning of the apathy that has been generated in society.

Hours after the debate ended, former Bulgarian Prime Minister and GERB leader Boiko Borisov thanked the DPS for its support and apologized to the public for the new parliamentary disagreement.

He also announced that GERB will not support any of the other two proposals to form a government, considering that it would not be “logical” for parties with 6 or 7 percent of the votes in the elections to govern.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will now have to propose to the DPS, the second-placed party in the June elections, to form a government. It is led by Delyan Peevski, a former media mogul who appears on the US and UK corruption sanctions lists. If that is not successful, it would be up to Change-Democratic Bulgaria to take the lead.