Parliament on September 17 debated the fifth vote of no confidence against the “Zhelyazkov” cabinet on the topic of 'Internal Security and Justice'. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow at 16:45.
The main points of the motion were presented at the start of the debate by co-sponsors from 'We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria' (WCC-DB) and 'Morality, Unity, Honour' (MECh).
Radostin Vassilev - leader of MECH:
"This government has not only accepted the failure of anti-corruption measures in the Ministry of Interior as normal, but it also tolerates criminal groups within the Ministry. The lack of action on certain signals and Daniel Mitov’s complete indifference can be seen as complicity and covering up organised crime in Bulgaria. The sooner Rosen Zhelyazkov dismisses this Minister of Interior and the entire government resigns, the sooner the rule of law can be restored."
Bozhidar Bozhanov – WCC-DB Parliamentary Group:
"At the top of the state capture pyramid is Delyan Peevski, who exerts control over the state apparatus through years of systematic influence over security services and parts of the judiciary, especially the prosecution, despite his negligible political legitimacy. This government does not counteract these processes; it ensures their expansion. State capture is a conscious political choice of this government. The issue of state capture is not a dispute over seats between political elites, but is at the heart of Bulgaria being last in almost all EU rankings."
Atanas Atanasov – WCC-DB Parliamentary Group:
"The state today operates under a usurped, repressive power, used against dissenters and the opposition."
Hassan Ademov – 'Alliance for Rights and Freedoms' Parliamentary Group:
"I call on all MPs to support this motion to restore the country’s institutions, justice, and trust in the political class."
The Minister of Justice criticized the motion as unsubstantiated, arguing that references to EU Commission reports were selective and ignored positive findings. He also addressed allegations of government sabotage of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, stating that he had verified the matter with Laura Kövesi, who confirmed no grounds for such claims.
Georgi Georgiev - Minister of Justice:
"At present, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has no reason to report a lack of cooperation."
'Vazrazhdane' and 'Velichie', although not involved in the preparation of the vote, actively participated in the debate, and Ivelin Mihailov expressed hope that the vote could succeed.
Kostadin Kostadinov – Chair of 'Vazrazhdane' PG:
"The Bulgarian state is indeed captured, but it cannot be liberated with the overwhelming majority of people here; what the country needs is not a vote of no confidence but a revolution."
Ivelin Mihaylov – Chair of 'Velichie' PG:
"There is a chance for the motion to pass, as even some GERB members are unhappy with Peevski gradually acquiring GERB like ARF."
Minister of Interior, Daniel Mitov, responded, saying parts of the motion were generated with ChatGPT and others were outdated. He denied leaking information in the case of the police chief in Ruse and accused the opposition of inflating the scandal to catalyze the vote.
Daniel Mitov – Minister of Interior:
"The destructive Russian disinformation campaign operates like a well-coordinated attack against democratic societies, aiming to convince people that institutions are powerless. When society believes the state doesn’t function, the hard fist is raised. Some opposition members have knelt before it."
Defending the government, MPs from MRF-New Beginning emphasised that Peevski’s influence prevents others from capturing the state.
Yordan Tsonev – MRF - New Beginning PG:
"The fixation on Peevski is understandable; he prevented the state from being captured by you. He exposed your hypocritical masks."
Delyan Peevski - Chairman of the MRF - New Beginning parliamentary group:
"Three years and three-four months remain until the end of the yerm in office. They should stop playing games and focus on actually helping people, addressing some real problems here, rather than those bringing no-confidence votes. And on top of that, the very topics on which they are filing no-confidence motions are being pushed by the same people who looted the state for nearly five years together with their father. They have no shame in doing this. Exactly those people – with their bundles of cash, their lapdogs, their interior ministers, their repression, dragging political leaders around – and now they dare speak about this. That’s over. I am the guarantor."
Dragomir Stoynev of the BSP accused WCC–DB of not holding the rule of law in such high regard when they are in power.
Dragomir Stoynev – Chair of the BSP–United Left Parliamentary Group:
"These ministers have achieved significant results in absorbing the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The government of Rosen Zhelyazkov has started to function effectively. Results are becoming visible, because while up until now the focus was on solving problems and putting out fires, from this point onwards the government will begin to demonstrate the long-term policy it envisions."
According to Stanislav Balabanov of There Is Such a People (TISP), the majority of the opposition’s arguments are based on dubious sources and rumours, which he says is a sign of helplessness.
Stanislav Balabanov – TISP Parliamentary Group:
"Over the past five years, marked by chaos, attempts to capture the state, and sheer amateurism, when I now see these same people artificially united, putting their signatures under utterly amateurish motives for yet another meaningless vote, I feel rather reassured — because there is no alternative against us."
Borissov described the no-confidence vote as irresponsible.
Boyko Borissov – Chair of the GERB–UDF Parliamentary Group:
"Imagine if the government falls and we then have to draw up a budget to enable entry into the eurozone. It is WCC–DB who are the initiators of this vote. How will a 3% deficit be covered — does anyone realise that?! It is sheer irresponsibility. We shall see tomorrow how the voting goes. They have jumped on the Russian anti-euro bandwagon."
At the close of the debate, Elisaveta Belobradova presented Daniel Mitov with a road sign, thus satirising the Ministry of Interior for, in her words, responding to the scandal in Ruse not with a solution but merely by putting up a road sign.
Speaker of Parliament, Natalia Kiselova, said that she was disappointed with the arguments put forward.
Natalia Kiselova – Speaker of Parliament:
"Knowledge of law is something you need to strengthen. Personally, I was disappointed by the arguments. This was a misuse of the law. I am sure many people read the arguments carefully and tried to find what we had been led to expect – the promises were big. First and foremost, what exactly is this vote of no confidence about, on which specific grounds? Because the reasons are more than two. Today we heard everything from social issues to problems in the energy sector."
photos by Dessislava Kulelieva(BNT), BTA, BGNES
The voting on the no-confidence motion will be held tomorrow at 16:45.
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