Scandal in Parliament: Nearly a Physical Brawl Between MPs from “Vazrazhdane” and WCC-DB

A heated confrontation in Bulgaria's National Assembly on May 29 nearly escalated into a physical altercation between members of the "Vazrazhdane" party and the "We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) coalition. Parliament's Speaker, Nataliya Kiselova, issued official reprimands to MPs Ivaylo Papov and Kostadin Kostadinov from "Vazrazhdane," as well as to Manol Peykov from WCC-DB, due to the use of offensive language.

The incident was sparked by a declaration from "Vazrazhdane" criticising WCC-DB's outrage over the fact that many children in Bulgaria are studying the Russian language. From the parliamentary rostrum, Ivaylo Papov referred to WCC-DB MPs as “janissaries”. Speaker Kiselova reprimanded him for his “insulting remarks.” Kostadin Kostadinov came to Papov’s defence and repeated the slur, And in turn received the same punishment himself.

Tensions briefly subsided, but were reignited when MP Tsoncho Ganev (Vazrazhdane) claimed that banning the study of languages would lead to civil war. This provoked Manol Peykov (WCC-DB) to take the floor, where he called his opponents “low-grade liars” and used other derogatory terms. His remarks triggered an explosive reaction.

photo by BTA

MPs from "Vazrazhdane" surrounded Peykov at the podium, and thanks to the intervention of the parliamentary ushers, the situation did not devolve into physical violence. Speaker Kiselova called a 15-minute recess and issued a reprimand to Manol Peykov as well.