Parliament’s Extraordinary Sitting on Drug Trafficker Pardon Cancelled Due to Lack of Quorum

Parliament was due to meet today, October 21, despite being in recess. However, a lack of quorum derailed the extraordinary sitting on the pardon granted to Ognian Atanassov, also known as the ‘the Escobar from Petrich’. The planned hearings did not take place, but the opposition gathered signatures for two further extraordinary sittings.

The first attempt to establish a quorum failed, with 107 MPs registering. After a 30-minute break, MPs made a second attempt to hold the extraordinary sitting. Once again, there was no quorum, with 109 MPs registering.

Mihaela Dotsova, Speaker of the National Assembly: “There is no quorum, so the sitting cannot take place.”

The largest opposition party offered a brief comment on the lack of quorum.

Temenuzhka Petkova, GERB-UDF: “That is a question for the majority. You can see that our colleagues from Progressive Bulgaria do not want the sitting to take place or the proceedings to be made public.”

Democratic Bulgaria accused the governing parties of deliberately preventing a quorum.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, Democratic Bulgaria: “Once again, the governing parties have disgracefully concealed Iotova’s scandal over the pardoning of drug traffickers. Today, we were supposed to hear from the Ministry of Interior and the State Agency for National Security, who were to confirm or deny whether these people had been secret collaborators for the security services.”

The 'We Continue the Change' party, which had called for the sitting to be held, challenged the governing parties.

Assen Vassilev, We Continue the Change: “Do you think it is normal not to turn up for work in order to hide this information from Bulgarian citizens? Progressive Bulgaria had fewer people present, with 131 MPs, than we did, with 16. That is all you need to know about the quorum.”

According to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), President Iliana Iotova should have appeared before the National Assembly to explain the matter.

Delyan Peevski, MRF: “What is so secret about it? Let them come and explain.”

Progressive Bulgaria defended itself following the criticism, arguing that it was the opposition’s responsibility, rather than the governing party’s, to secure a quorum for an extraordinary sitting.

Petar Vitanov, Progressive Bulgaria: “We made more than 20 people available to register. If the issue had been significant and important to them, they would have got their people together. This is nothing more than a grubby political campaign. After the elections, when we put all the pre-election passions aside, this issue will receive attention. There is a problem somewhere, but it does not lie with the presidency.”

Photos: BTA

Earlier, on the programme More from the Day, President Iliana Iotova said she would refer the matter to the prosecutor’s office to investigate whether there had been any irregularities in the pardon procedure. The formal referral was submitted on 19 October.

The opposition has also gathered signatures for two further extraordinary parliamentary sessions: one concerning the burning of Starlink antennas and another on the drug trafficker case.