Emil Hristov Remains in the Post of Parliament Deputy Speaker

Bulgaria’s Parliament on 2^nd of May rejected the draft motion submitted by the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) to release Emil Hristov as deputy speaker of Parliament. Out of 189 MPs, 71 voted "in favour" and 118 voted "against". Only BSP voted in favour of Hristov's resignation. The partners in the ruling coalition GERB and the United Patriots, as well as Volya party voted against the motion. The MRF did not participate in the vote.

BSP demanded Hristov's resignation for violating the rules and undermining the prestige of the National Assembly. One of the motives was that on 18 April, Hristov did not admit parents of children with disabilities to the building of Parliament, although they had access passes issued.

Another reason for the requested resignation was that in the plenary session on the same day, Hristov allowed language of hatred. According to BSP, this happened with a statement by Spas Gurnevski on behalf of GERB.

This case should not have been used for political purposes, Emil Hristov said. According to him, BSP "used" people with disabilities for party purposes. He outlined the chronology of the April 18th events and said that for more than an hour BSP were hiding from him that there were citizens who were not admitted to the parliament building. He explained that BSP informed him about one hour after the protetsting citizens were stopped by the security.