New Bulgarian National Assembly Successfully Elects Chairperson After Ten Failed Attempts

Sofia, Dec 6 (NationPress) The newly formed Bulgarian National Assembly successfully elected a Chairperson on Friday after a series of ten unsuccessful attempts, thereby resolving the deadlock that had plagued its operations.

Nataliya Kiselova, who was put forward by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)-United Left coalition, received backing from 140 parliamentary members affiliated with her coalition, GERB-UDF, We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), and the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF). Only 93 voted against her.

Kiselova, a specialist in constitutional law and an associate professor at Sofia University, was nominated for her expertise in this field, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Her election allows the Parliament to function as it should.

According to the Bulgarian constitution, the President must appoint a Prime Minister-designate from the largest parliamentary group to establish a government. This government must obtain a majority that exceeds half of the current members of parliament.

If negotiations do not succeed, the constitution allows for two more attempts to form a government: first by the second-largest parliamentary group, and then by another party or coalition.

GERB-UDF secured the highest number of seats in the snap elections conducted on October 27, obtaining 69 seats, while the PP-DB coalition followed with 37 seats. In total, eight parties entered the legislature.