Bulgaria’s 44th National Assembly held its final sitting

Bulgaria’s 44th National Assembly held its final sitting on March 25.

The Speaker of Parliament, Tveta Karayancheva, opened the sitting, 194 MPs were registered in the hall.

As part of the tradition, the chairpersons of parliamentary groups had closing remarks. The chairperson of the ruling GERB's Parliamentary Group, Daniela Daritkova, defined the past 4 years as a difficult period, going through political and geopolitical upheavals and an epidemic crisis. She pointed out that there is no party that can rule alone. Immediately after the elections, GERB will make efforts to restore the normal dialogue between the institutions and the political forces, even at the risk of paying a heavy price for it. She called on politicians to go beyond their narrow party interests and put the interests of citizens in the first place.

The chairperson of the Parliamentary group of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Kornelia Ninova, called for the restoration of statehood and the institutions to guarantee security for the citizens, tranquillity, adequate health care, education and work. She stressed that during this period BSP refused to come to power and behind-the-scenes agreements and were a real alternative to the ruling party. She pointed out that they had fulfilled all their election promises.

The MRF parliamentary group did not make a statement from the parliamentary rostrum. Instead, the party issued a statement to the media saying that the humiliation of this Parliament would finally end and this self-serving in power, that had been observed for 11 years, should no longer be allowed.

The co-chairman of the Parliamentary Group of "United Patriots", Iskren Veselinov, pointed out that they not only participated in the government, but also opposed negative trends. He pointed out that they had broken the model and thus showed that the MRF could be removed as a political balancer.

The leader of Volya party, Vesselin Mareshki, said at the end of its first term, his party has higher confidence. He pointed out that they have shown that the country can combat corruption with a lot of will. Mareshki called on his colleagues to pay homage to the work of doctors, teachers and police officers. His call was heard and all MPs stood up and showed their respect with applause.

On behalf of the non-members of parliamentary group, Krassimir Yankov, said that the progressive socialists would work for a Bulgarian line defending the national interest. He called on everyone on April 4, in compliance with anti-epidemic measures, to come out and vote.

In conclusion, the Speaker of the 44th National Assembly, Tsveta Karayancheva, wished the MPs who will re-enter the next Parliament to learn from the mistakes made, and those who will enter for the first time - not to forget their promises. She thanked the thousands of volunteers - advocates and observers who will monitor the election process. She pointed out that they will be a guarantor of a fair vote. She said that in the election, every vote counts and will be counted fairly. She called for high turnout

images by BGNES