Political forces want a partial annulment of the results of the October 27 elections due to serious suspicions of a bought and controlled vote. The presidential institution took advantage of these accusations to press for the return of the power to elect a caretaker government, arguing that this would not have happened with a cabinet selected by the head of state. In order to further strengthen the public's mistrust of the future National Assembly, and hence of parliamentary democracy, seven protests were organized in Sofia on the day of the convening of the 51st Parliament.
This comments on "Deutsche Welle" Emilia Milcheva,
Two weeks after the seventh snap parliamentary election, the possibility of an eighth is already being openly discussed by politicians, with analysts pointing to March 2025 as a possible date for another vote.
Undoubtedly, the election of the chairman of the 51st National Assembly is indicative due to the fact that he falls within the scope of persons from among whom the president can choose an acting prime minister. And the head of state Rumen Radev gave certain signals that Dimitar Glavchev could be replaced, therefore the government, because of doubts about the fairness of the vote. But for this purpose, he must be provided with an option to choose someone other than Glavchev.
Although the basic law lists as potential candidates the speaker of the National Assembly, the governor or one of the three deputy governors of the BNB, the chairman or one of his two deputies from the Audit Chamber, as well as the ombudsman or his deputy, of all of them available only the head of the Audit Chamber, i.e. Dimitar Glavchev. The BNB has already made it clear that they will not participate in this process. The ombudsman institution has been emptied, one deputy of the Audit Chamber refused, and the other, Gorica Grancharova-Kozhareva, was nominated, but her draft cabinet failed due to the re-election of Kalin Stoyanov as interior minister. He will currently be a member of the DPS-New Beginning of Delyan Peevski.
Such an option, different from Glavchev - with a career as a politician from GERB, is only possible if the speaker of the parliament is not from GERB. This will also mean a new official cabinet, which will not be under the domination of GERB, and whether it will be free from dependence on Peevski is still a hypothesis.
GERB-SDS will once again propose Raya Nazaryan as parliamentary leader. PP-DB have not made a final decision, but they are adamant that they will not enter into discussions about one without support for the “sanitary cordon“ around Delyan Peevski and DPS-New Beginning - a condition that GERB rejects. “Revival” raised by Petar Petrov. BSP-United Left will nominate Assoc. Nataliya Kiselova, former adviser to President Radev, and now an MP from their parliamentary group. Kiselova is a professor of constitutional law, considered close to President Radev, and former secretary for legal affairs of President Rosen Plevneliev (2012-2017). In the event that Kiselova is elected - with the argument of a compromise figure, the head of state will be able to re-appoint “his” government and without having returned to him the previous powers under the Constitution.
However, there is a chance to get them back after the BSP-United Left and “There is such a people” intend to submit a request to the Constitutional Court for a re-examination of amendments to the basic law adopted 11 months ago. Analysts have already noted that with the changed distribution of forces in the Supreme Court, after Radev has already appointed two judges from his quota, this hypothesis may become a reality. And at the first meeting of the parliamentary group of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, the so-called “authentic DPS”, and the honorary chairman of DPS Ahmed Dogan has declared for the return of the president's powers to Ahmed to form a caretaker government “This is a pivotal moment. Everything possible should be done to speed up the process”, says Dogan.
Demands for cashing elections follow one after the other - ITN, “Velichie”, PP-DB and independent MPs, excluded from DPS, signed a complaint even while the 50th parliament existed. The rapporteur in the case of election fraud is the constitutional judge Prof. Yanaki Stoilov, elected from the quota of Rumen Radev in the Constitutional Court.
The PP-DB also promise to file a complaint, which will also look for like-minded people, since they have 37 people's representatives, for a complaint to the SC, 48, ⅕ of the parliament are needed. PP co-chairman Asen Vassilev admitted to Nova TV that the cashing process will take 3-4 months. This means that there is a possibility that the 51st Parliament will not be able to wait for the decision.
“Revival” also tried to file a complaint with the SC, but failed to collect the required number of signatures. Instability in the newly elected parliament and numerous calls for the election to be rigged undermine the prospects for any effective governance. Inter-party contradictions and tensions maintain the feeling of constant political conflict in Bulgaria, and the organized protests intensify it - along with the suggestion that the parties are creating chaos and only a firm hand or a new political alternative will restore order.
On the first working day of the 51st Parliament, Sofia dawns surrounded by police cordons because of seven demonstrations. Two of them were organized by Peevski and by the former employee of DANS Rosen Milenov, who called on social networks for a human shield against the manifestation of the sympathizers of the "DPS-New Beginning", whose title is: "We are not phantoms!" We are real!”.
But on Sunday, Milenov was arrested. However “Majesty” will protest side by side with supporters of his “Civil Initiative for non-recognition of the election results for the 51st National Assembly” - in the so-called “triangle of power”, between the parliament, the presidency and the BNB. VMRO will also be there. As on social platforms, Milenov campaigned for people not to be afraid of broken hands and blood. “Bulgarians, take stones, take sticks, torches and come on the first working day. I am calling on Bulgarian men, not women, if there are any men left, come and be.
For the “real” Peevski's voters have been allocated a place in front of the central entrance of the parliament - and a parking lot for the buses that will bring them. And in several other key places in Sofia - in front of the NDK and the National Theatre, other citizens will also protest. Civil disobedience and destabilization of the state are tested in the conditions of an unmanned parliament. Explosive.
This comment expresses the author's personal opinion and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial team and DV as a whole.