Eighth attempt: No breakthrough in the deadlock over the election of Speaker of 51st Parliament

For the eighth time, on November 29, the MPs attempted to elect the Speaker of the 51st Parliament. However, this eighth attempt was also unsuccessful. The first sitting of Parliament resumed at 11:00 AM on November 29. Minutes before the start, GERB leader Boyko Borissov withdrew the candidacy of Raya Nazaryan for the post of Speaker.

On the eighth day of the first sitting, three candidates were nominated. "Vazrazhdane" again put forward Petar Petrov, while There is Such a People and "BSP - United Left" reaffirmed their candidates, Silvi Kirilov and Nataliya Kiselova, respectively. The two went to a second round of voting. Before voting, the MPs took a one-hour break. Afterward, instead of proceeding with the vote, the MPs requested another one-hour break, but Silvi Kirilov agreed to only 30 minutes. After the two breaks, the second round of voting took place.

Nataliya Kiselova received 87 votes "in favour." There were 61 votes "against," and 88 MPs abstained.

Bozhidar Bozhanov from We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB) requested a re-vote, which was granted. In the re-vo Kiselova again received 87 votes in favour. This time, 60 MPs voted against, and 90 abstained.

A 15-minute break was announced, marking the end of the eighth continuation of the first sitting of the Parliament.

"I am adjourning the sitting, and we will reconvene on Wednesday, December 4, at 11:00 AM," announced Silvi Kirilov, who chaired the sitting as the most senioir MP, after consultations with the political forces in Parliament.

This is how the eighth attempt to elect the Speaker of the National Assembly unfolded:

The Nominations:

• "Vazrazhdane" - Lawyer Petar Petrov
• There is Such a People (TISP) re-nominated Assoc. Prof. Silvi Kirilov, calling it an "elegant solution to the crisis"
• BSP - United Left" reaffirmed Assoc. Prof. Nataliya Kiselova as an "authoritative option to resolve the situation"

Following the announcements, Silvi Kirilov called for a 30-minute recess.

After the recess, the voting began:

Assoc. Prof. Nataliya Kiselova received 87 votes "in favour," 60 "against," and 90 abstentions.
Lawyer Petar Petrov received 46 votes in favour. There were 134 votes "against," and 57 abstentions. Upon re-vote, the result was 45 in favour, 137 against, and 55 abstentions.
Assoc. Prof. Silvi Kirilov was supported by 65 MPs, with 104 voting against, and 68 abstaining.
After the vote and before thesecond round of voting, the MPs took another one-hour break, followed by a further 30-minute recess.

Yesterday, the runoff was between Raya Nazaryan and Silvi Kirilov. Nazaryan received support from 69 MPs, 159 voted against, and 10 abstained. Kirilov received 118 votes in favour, 104 against, and 17 abstentions. The TISP candidate came close to winning the Speaker’s post, but the compromise from "Democratic Bulgaria" was insufficient, leading to renewed tensions.

"We Continuing the Change" expelled Daniel Lorer from the party and demanded the resignation of Yavor Bozhankov for not supporting Silvi Kirilov for Speaker. Lorer abstained, while Bozhankov voted "against." Their two votes would have been enough for the 51st Parliament to elect a Speaker. Nadezhda Yordanova also voted "against," citing confusion as the reason for her vote.