Ruling parties must allow space for opposition, regardless of election margin, says GERB–UDF MP Toma Bikov

The governing parties, regardless of the margin by which they have won elections, have a responsibility to ensure space for the opposition, Toma Bikov of GERB–UDF said during discussions on proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly put forward by “Progressive Bulgaria”.

At present, he said, Parliament remains the only place where an alternative viewpoint to that of the government can be heard.

Commenting on the proposed changes to the National Assembly’s rules, Mr Bikov said his party saw two main negative trends.

“The first is the severe restriction of the question time, which, in a situation of a full majority, is unnecessary and even dangerous. The second is the shortening of a number of procedures in the legislative process, which risks turning Parliament into a ‘rubber stamp of Mr Radev’. I have heard him describe Parliament as a rubber stamp, but under these rules that approach effectively becomes official,” he said.

Mr Bikov added: “We hope our colleagues from ‘Progressive Bulgaria’ will reflect on these ideas. Parliament is neither a communist youth meeting nor a barracks, so such an approach towards the opposition is inappropriate, and a consensus should be found, because so far a large part of the National Assembly’s rules have been adopted by consensus.”

“Our approach has always been to preserve as much space as possible for the opposition, because we were in government for a large part of these years,” he added.

Asked whether the rules should remain in their current form, Mr Bikov said his party insisted that question time should not be restricted and that obstacles should not be placed in the way of ministers being questioned. “I think Mr Radev, in his capacity as President, has consistently appealed in this direction, and we expected that, as Prime Minister, he would continue to do so,” he noted.

Commenting on proposals by Finance Minister Galab Donev regarding the state budget for this year, Mr Bikov said they had reviewed the ideas and were expecting written, detailed proposals.

Source: BTA