Election of Speaker of Parliament: Stalemate continues, parties looking for a way to resolve the crisis

The crisis with the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly continues today, October 20. After the sixth attempt, the MPs again did not elect anyone. The situation, however, developed dynamically during the break and the largest parliamentary group GERB-UDF withdrew their nomination. "We Continue the Change" in turn invited the parties to consultations to find a solution.

Unprecedented: MPs failed to elect a Speaker of the Parliament

After the presiding NA Speaker Vezhdi Rashidov announced a break, the parties gathered for a council of the heads of the parliamentary groups, and then made several statements. "Democratic Bulgaria" argued for another approach to choosing a Speaker, for example that it should be the oldest or most experienced MP.

A little later, "We Continue the Change" invited all parties to public consultations to find a solution to the crisis, which, according to the party co-chair, Assen Vassilev, is unprecedented:

"At 12.00, we invite the leaders of all parliamentary parties to public consultations to be broadcast online and all Bulgarian citizens can see what is happening so that we can find a way to solve the constitutional crisis," he said.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) said it would go to these talks. Minutes later, however, Desislava Atanasova of GERB-UDF announced that the party was withdrawing the candidacy of Rosen Zhelyazkov and that they agreed to another approach for the election of the Speaker:

"The council of the heads of parliamentary groups has not yet decided on what criteria the Speaker of the 48th National Assembly should be elected, since the criterion of gathering a majority does not apply at the moment, because there is parity. We agree for talks, the third largest group to nominate a Speaker or another approach - the oldest, the most experienced MP. Whatever approach, as long as there is a way for the National Assembly to start its legislative activity," Atanasova said.

The parties, however, did not go to the 12 o'clock meeting with “We Continue the Change”, but reconvened for the council of the chairs of parliamentary groups . “We Continue the Change” co-chairs, Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev, called for dialogue.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE 48TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

After eight hours of voting, discussions, breaks and verbal skirmishes yesterday, the first plenary sitting of the 48th National Assembly was adjourned - without an elected Speaker. After two votes in two rounds, no agreement was reached. Five parties put forward their own candidates for the post of Parliament Speaker and this effectively scattered the votes with none of them being able to muster a majority.

After the meeting, “Democratic Bulgaria” made a proposal that the chairmanship be rotated between the candidates of the two largest parliamentary groups - Rosen Zhelyazkov of GERB-UDF and Nikola Minchev of “We Continue the Change”.

GERB-UDF supported the proposal of "Democratic Bulgaria". BSP described the idea as inappropriate, but stressed that their goal was to make the Parliament work.

"We Continue the Change" withdraw the candidacy of Nikola Minchev for Speaker of Parliament

In the evening, however, there was a partial resolution of the blocked election, as "We Continue the Change" announced that they were withdrawing the candidacy of Nikola Minchev, even though in their opinion he was the most worthy. “We Continue the change” said they would not nominate a candidate at the meeting today, October 20.

Images by Dessislava Kulelieva, BNT