The 51st National Assembly of Bulgaria again failed to elect a president both at the ballot and at the subsequent re-vote in today's latest attempt to break the stalemate, BGNES reported.
220 MPs took part in the ballot. Only 19 WCC-DB MPs took part in the vote after the Democratic Bulgaria MPs left the chamber.
In the ballot, the candidacy of Raya Nazarian from GERB-UDF was rejected. "69 MPs voted for her, 147 against and 4 abstained.
On the ballot the candidacy of Silvi Kirilov from TSP also did not gather a majority. "100 MPs voted for it, 100 against, 17 abstained.
Radostin Vassilev from MEC requested a quorum check through the electronic system, but his request was not granted.
Stanislav Balabanov of the TSP said that it would be disgraceful if a chairman was not elected today and asked for a revote procedure.
Everyone can see that an attempt is being made to play with the quorum, the MP said. He appealed to the BSP and the WCC-DB for support on the grounds that anything else would create "a lot of dependency issues".
In the subsequent re-vote, Silvi Kirilov of the TSP again failed to get a majority to become the Speaker of the 51st National Assembly.
"100 MPs voted for him, 101 against and 16 abstained. 217 MPs participated in this vote.
Atanas Zafirov explained his negative vote by saying. The BSP voted in principle and consistently. We are categorically against backroom deals. We will negotiate for another 10 days if we have to.
I propose that we untie the knot in the next 48 hours, Zafirov said and suggested that the candidates for the NA president be replaced.
Before announcing the next date, Silvi Kirilov said that the responsibility of the MPs is getting heavier.
The sitting continues tomorrow, Thursday, at 11 am. | BGNES
