First sitting of Bulgaria’s newly-elected 49th Parliament

The first sitting of the 49th National Assembly was opened with a solemn ceremony on April 12.

The 49th National Assembly was elected at early elections on April 2, 2023.

Six coalitions and parties are represented in the new 240-seat Parliament.

• GERB-Union of the Democratic Forces (UDF) coalition will have 69 seats.
• “We Continue the Change”- “Democratic Bulgaria” coalition party will have 64 seats
• “Vazrazhdane” party will have 37 seats.
• The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) has won 36 seats.
• Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) won 23 seats.
• “There is Such a People” - 11 seats.
• The 240 MPs took an oath to uphold the Constitution and to be guided by the interests of the people.

According to the Constitution, the new Parliament's first sitting was opened by the oldest attending MP, who is Vezhdi Rashidov of GERB.

"The people live with a sense of insecurity, a chance for unity and for something better," he addressed in his speech.

"I prayed for reason, I believed that this is the main thing needed for Bulgaria to have the chance to push itself away from the bottom," Rashidov said, pointing out that big politics is a string of compromises.

"There is no doubt that the challenges facing this National Assembly are great, but there is also no doubt that the passage of the Budget Bill is a primary task," President Rumen Radev emphasized in his speech. He expressed hope that the draft bill would be submitted by a regular cabinet, formed by the Parliamen, and not by the caretaker government.

"The 49th National Assembly has a crucial role to play. We all expect it to take long-delayed decisions as soon as possible, not only to resolve the political crisis, but also to defend the country's European perspective and our future as a democratic society," President Rumen Radev addressed the MPs.

The people showed unequivocally that the political crisis cannot be solved by a single party or coalition alone, Desislava Atanassova, chair of GERB-UDF parliamentary group said in a statement from the parliamentary rostrum. The results show that the only way out of the current situation, and that way is only possible if acceptable compromises are reached with mutual respect between the parties, if the parties reach an agreement on the important issues for the country and restore political dialogue. Anyone who does not respect the results will lose not only voters but also perspective in the political life of the country, she said.

"It is high time, after so many unsuccessful attempts, for the Bulgarian Parliament to start work and start addressing the real problems of the people with a real legislative programme, which reflects the true problems of Bulgaria," Kiril Petkov, co-chair of We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria alliance (WCC-DB) said.

We are servants of our voters, as all MPs should be, said the chairman of "Vazrazhdane" party, Kostadin Kostadinov , said in his statement at the first sitting of the newly elected 49th National Assembly.

"I am addressing only my compatriots, because as always, all of us in this hall, regardless of the temporary power and positions given to us, should be first and foremost only one thing - Bulgarians," he addressed his colleagues.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) leader, Mustafa Karadayi, called for dialogue between the political forces and the formation of a government with Euro-Atlantic values with clear tasks and specific deadlines.

Voters, despite voting for different political parties, are united again in the thesis that no political formation should rule independently, he said. “The message of the people is clear - politicians should come to the negotiating table and start talking,“ he added. Both during the campaign and now, many political entities are prioritising their own problems rather than the problems of the people. Instead of engaging with the problems of society, they engage the people with baseless criticism of their opponents. There can be a government - absolutely, but all participants should express readiness for dialogue without turning it into another PR action and meaningless talk," the MRF leader said.

The National Assembly should be the solution to the problems, not a part of them, Socialist party leader Kornelia Ninova said in her address.

"The society wants to have stability and security. This is our common task, it cannot go on like this," Ninova said from the parliamentary rostrum.

"There is Such a People" declared its intention to be constructive and to do everything possible to make this Parliament work.

"We from "There is Such a People" are in politics and in this Parliament because we can bear responsibility and it is this responsibility that obliges us to be constructive and to do everything possible to make this Parliament work, to do everything possible and everything that depends on us to solve the crises that face all Bulgarian citizens," said the chair of the TISP group Ivaylo Valchev.

After the political declarations, the MPs moved on to the election of Speaker of the 49th Parliament.

GERB-UDF nominated Rosen Zhelyazkov. The party "Vazrazhdane" nominated Petar Petrov for the post. The other political groups in the National Assembly did not nominate candidates.

Parliament did not elect a Speaker.

The vote was in alphabetical order. The candidate of "Vazzrazhdane", Petar Petrov, received 37 votes in favour, 88 against and 39 abstentions. The nominee of GERB-UDF, Rosen Zhelyazkov, received 79 votes in favour, 8 against and 144 abstentions.

Assen Vassilev of WCC-DB proposed that a rotating Speaker be elected. The deputies went into recess, and when they returned to the chamber, the MP presiding the first sitting, Vezhdi Rashidov, closed the plenary day without having elected a Speaker. He urged the MPs to think it over and invited them back tomorrow at 10.00.

The election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the National Assembly in the previous Parliament went on for three days.

Images by Dessislava Kulelieva