MPs Debate Second No-Confidence Vote Against the Zhelyazkov Cabinet Today

Today, April 16, Members of Parliament are debating the second no-confidence vote against the Zhelyazkov cabinet.

The motion was submitted last week, on April 10, initiated by the parliamentary group "Morality, Unity, Honour" (MECH), with additional signatures from "Vazrazhdane" and "Velichie." The vote cites corruption in four or five sectoral policies, including issues related to the agreement with the Turkish gas company Botas.

According to the Parliament's rules of procedure, the debate on the draft resolution for a no-confidence motion shall start not earlier than three days and not later than seven days from the receipt of the motion. The vote itself should take place no sooner than 24 hours after the conclusion of the debates and is expected to be held on Thursday.

Late yesterday afternoon, the "Democracy, Rights and Freedoms" (DRF) party held a meeting and decided to withdraw from the governing majority. A similar meeting took place before the first no-confidence vote, at which time the party declared it would continue to support the majority until the release of the convergence report on Bulgaria. However, yesterday DRF recalled that they were invited into the governing majority as a guarantor of political stability and to help dismantle the so-called "Peevski model"—something they claim has not yet been achieved. DRF also stated that they would seriously consider whether to support the second no-confidence vote.

GERB-UDF, BSP-United Left and There is Such a People responded immediately. In a joint position to the media, the three formations comprising the coalition government announced that they remain committed to the need for Bulgaria to have a Parliament-elected government that implements policies supporting the rule of law, economic competitiveness, national security, public safety, and citizens’ social rights.

During the debate, MECh exceeded their allotted time to present the motives for the vote, prompting Speaker of Parliament Natalya Kiselova to cut the microphone. The entire group took to the podium in protest.

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The Bulgarian Parliament on January 16 elected a coalition government comprising the GERB-UDF, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)-United Left and populist formation There Is Such a People (TISP) and supported by the Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF).

The government, led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov of GERB-UDF, was approved in a 125-114 vote in the 240-seat Parliament, with no abstentions.

Among the main priorities of the government are accession to the Eurozone, accelerating the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, support for democratic governance, the rule of law, economic competitiveness, security, and the protection of citizens' social rights.

The government was elected following the snap election held on October 27, 2024 - the country's seventh parliamentary vote in three and a half years.

Bulgaria had been led by a caretaker cabinet since April 2024 after a power-sharing deal between the two biggest factions in Parliament - the centre-right GERB-UDF and the reformist We Continue the Change- Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB) coalition - collapsed and parties in the Parliament failed to put together a new government. Early elections in June 2024 resulted in a fragmented Parliament including seven political groups, which again failed to agree on the formation of a government.