< p>After the failure of the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly yesterday, the first session of the 50th Parliament continues today at 10:00. The chairman of the meeting, Silvi Kirilov (ITN), announced a 30-minute break. Deputies were sworn in yesterday, and then voted in two rounds to elect a president. The first time they voted on the candidacies of all four candidates - Raya Nazaryan from GERB-SDS, Petar Petrov from "Vazrazhdane", Silvi Kirilov from ITN and Juliana Mateeva from "Velichie". However, none of them managed to gather the necessary support of 119 votes. In the second round, the people's representatives voted for the two nominees who received the most votes - Raya Nazaryan and Petar Petrov, but again no one received the necessary support. What to expect today… Petar Petrov - candidate of “Vazrazhdane” spoke to FACTS. for Speaker of the Parliament.
- Mr. Petrov, will we have the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly in the second round, as they say…
- If the Speaker of the National Assembly is not elected, it cannot start its work and cannot perform any of its functions. So today we will have the so-called second round of selection from the applications.
- How are you better than the GERB-SDS candidate Raya Nazaryan…
- I feel that I am better not only than her, but also than all those who were proposed as candidates in this National Assembly. I am in my fourth term, I am the most active member of parliament in the three previous parliaments in which I participated - both in terms of parliamentary control, speeches, and work on bills. It is also important to say what I think the parliamentary group of “Revival“ is the best - with the fact that we respect the law and the Constitution in our work in the National Assembly. Something that we have seen abused in the last year especially a lot.
- How do you think the vote will turn out, what kind of support do you expect…
- You are aware, aren't you, that last night there were and were ongoing many negotiations with the other parliamentary groups, because the two candidacies were clearly outlined – mine and Raya Nazarian's. And these negotiations were for support. We – from “Vazrazhdane”, we hope for support from all those who do not wish to have vicious procedures in the parliament again, as was the case in the 49th National Assembly. In other words, all parliamentary groups who wish to observe the Constitution, the Rules of the National Assembly and the legislation of the country in our activities are invited to support us.
- How do you view the fact that GERB is extremely keen to have a Speaker of the National Assembly. We also heard this from the leader Boyko Borisov as a request to have a cabinet?
- Let me return you to the work of the 49th National Assembly. You will remember that many decisions - including the one that rejected the referendum - were imposed by force by the majority by trampling on the procedures of the rules, for which there have been several constitutional appeals. Then you also remember how the changes in the Constitution were imposed, even though there were our protests in the plenary hall. How many other decisions and bills were taken, figuratively speaking, by force in violation of the rules and the Constitution. From “Revival“ we filed several constitutional complaints about all this. The only reason GERB wants so desperately to have their Speaker of the Parliament is to ensure the enforcement and adoption of legislative decisions.
- How do you see the life of this National Assembly. It is almost certain that there will be an election of the speaker of the parliament, but how do you feel the attitude to work inside the parliament?
- Based on the experience I already have, I will say the following. When PP-DB ruled and Asen Vasilev was finance minister, every summer the state budget was adjusted. An update is made in the summer. Why? In order to absorb more state money. This is a pretty solid reason to elect a Speaker of the National Assembly from the Euro-Atlantic majority. The update can also be introduced by the caretaker government, which is of the same Euro-Atlantic parties, but must be accepted by a functioning parliament. With the adoption of the update and the dismemberment of more money from the state, thanks to this National Assembly, the goal will be fulfilled. There may not be a regular government formed, but with an adopted budget, the money is clear. This, however, is my guess, but it is based on my personal experience for three terms now.