Leader of 'Greatness' Escorted Out of Bulgarian Parliament for Missing Oath

Nikolay Markov, leader of the right-wing "Greatness" (Velichie) party was escorted out of the plenary hall by the quaestors after arriving about 20 minutes late and missing the oath-taking ceremony for the opening of the 50th National Assembly. OFFNews reported that Markov attributed his tardiness to family problems.

The National Assembly administration clarified that Markov would take his oath at the next session and was escorted out because he was not yet officially an MP. Earlier in the day, Markov did not enter the building with his party representatives, led by Victoria Vasileva.

Victoria Vasileva, a former close associate of Slavi Trifonov and a former MP from "There Is Such a People" (TISP), led the "Greatness" representatives and made the opening statement on their behalf. She was accompanied by Iliana Marinova, a former TISP coordinator and candidate.

Yesterday, GERB announced that its leader Boyko Borissov received a letter from Markov requesting a personal meeting instead of the planned two-day consultations in parliament with a GERB negotiation team. Although Denitsa Sacheva indicated that such a meeting would not take place, Markov still expects it.