Bulgaria’s Parliament Stalls Again as Speaker Election Remains Unresolved

The Bulgarian National Assembly continued its efforts to elect a Speaker, but for the fourth consecutive time, no candidate managed to secure the necessary support. In today's first voting session, the stalemate persisted.

Following the failed vote, Borislav Gutsanov from "BSP - United Left" requested a presidential council to determine the next steps for electing the Speaker. Acting Speaker Silvi Kirilov convened the council and declared a half-hour break, later announcing that the voting process would resume on Friday at 10:00 a.m.

Earlier, the voting narrowed down to a runoff between GERB's nominee Raya Nazaryan and Silvi Kirilov, the candidate from "There Is Such a People" (TISP). Raya Nazaryan received 69 votes in favor, 130 against, and 38 abstentions, while Kirilov garnered 101 votes, including support from WCC-DB, "Revival," "Alliance for Rights and Freedoms," TISP, and MECH.

In light of the ongoing deadlock, TISP announced plans to hold talks with the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) to seek their backing for Kirilov's candidacy. TISP's Stanislav Balabanov urged "Democratic Bulgaria" (part of WCC-DB) to reconsider their position, emphasizing the importance of unblocking the work of the 51st Parliament and dismissing unrelated political narratives.

Meanwhile, Kostadin Kostadinov criticized WCC-DB for their role in the impasse, accusing them of being toxic and emblematic of corruption in Bulgarian politics. He claimed their actions reflected alignment with GERB, a sentiment echoed by Asen Vassilev, co-chair of "We Continue the Change." Vassilev argued that a Speaker could have been elected today if BSP or "Yes, Bulgaria" (part of WCC-DB) had adjusted their stances.