Parliament failed to ensure the requisite quorum of 121 MPs to hold a regular sitting on Thursday.
A total of 110 MPs of Continue the Change, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Democratic Bulgaria, and the independent MPs registered at 9:05, and acting National Assembly Chair Miroslav Ivanov announced a break until 9:30. The second and third attempt also failed to ensure quorum with only 112 registered MPs.
The sitting’s agenda includes adopting the rules of procedure for the nomination of a new Parliament Chair. The previous Chair, Nikola Minchev, was dismissed after four parliamentary groups submitted a draft resolution on his early release on June 15.
Just as during the failed regular sitting on Wednesday morning, the absent parties were once again GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, There Is Such a People (TISP), and Vazrazhdane: the same political groups that voted to have Minchev dismissed.
Miroslav Ivanov said: “Clearly, it is important to pass a motion of no confidence, but not important for the National Assembly to continue functioning normally”.
At an extraordinary sitting on Wednesday, Bulgaria’s Parliament on Wednesday voted, 123 to 116 with no abstentions, to pass a motion of no confidence against the Government of Kiril Petkov that was entered on June 16. The votes in favour of the motion came from GERB-UDF (59), the MRF (33), Vazrazhdane (12) and TISP (19), which until a week ago was part of the government coalition. Those against were the MPs of Continue the Change, BSP for Bulgaria and Democratic Bulgaria.
