Leader of opposition GERB: The largest vote-buying in the Bulgarian Parliament is taking place

In the Bulgarian Parliament, the largest vote-buying is taking place, leader of opposition GERB and former PM, Boyko Borissov, said at a media briefing on July 5.

In addition to money for breakaway MPs, colossal sums of money are offered to MPs not to enter the plenary when voting on the new cabinet, Borissov said.

"They are so clinging to this power that they do not notice what is happening around them."

In his words, the caretaker governments and the current one have regularly failed the Bulgarian Recovery Plan.

"Yesterday, the European Commission reduced the total amount of grants it will provide to Bulgaria under the Recovery Plan. The adjustment is 578 million euros - over 1 billion and 200 - 300 million loss due to the change. There are many losses - this one is categorical," he explained.

According to the GERB leader, one percent separates pensions from being "eaten by inflation" and the price of bread should fall by itself because of the new harvest. But this will not happen, Borissov believes, and introducing zero VAT rate for bread will simply reduce budget revenue collections.

Borissov showed data from the mayoral election in Nova Zagora, which was won by GERB candidate Galya Zaharieva and stressed that this result was achieved while the party was in isolation.

"The most real sociologies passed on Sunday, and these are the election results. You see in different parts of Bulgaria what the real results are. At the same time, in front of the eyes of our democratic public, the police are massively pressing, going around and entering houses to explicitly tell people that they should not vote for GERB," he clarified.

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On Saturday, July 2, “We Continue the Change” (WCC) party held talks with the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and “Democratic Bulgaria” to agree on policies and support for the new cabinet it would nominate. The deadline to come up with a proposal for a new cabinet is Friday, July 8.

The talks with BSP and “Democratic Bulgaria” (WCC partners in the outgoing coalition government) were held a day after President Rumen Radev presented “We Continue the Change”, a mandate to form a government.

WCC is seeking support for a government that would have a governance programme for six months.

Assen Vassilev, nominated for Prime Minister by WCC, said on Friday that the party did not yet have the support of the 121 MPs needed to get a government voted into office.

In order to achieve 121, WCC needs not only the support of the BSP and Democratic Bulgaria, but of MPs from other parties in The Parliament as well.

Last week, the leader of BSP, Kornelia Ninova, said she suspend the talks with WCC after outgoing PM Kiril Petkov announced the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats. However, BSP agreed to return to the talks after WCC abandoned their plan to nominate Kiril Petkov as candidate PM and thus met Ninova’s demand.

WCC said it would not hold negotiations with GERB leader Boyko Borissov, “There is Such a People” leader Slavi Trinofonov and “There is Such a People” parliamentary leader Toshko Yordanov, Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Delyan Peevski and “Vazrazhdane” party leader Kostadin Kostadinov.

If “We Continue the Change” party cannot secure a majority in Parliament, the mandate will be given to the second largest parliamentary group, the opposition GERB-UDF, which, on June 27, said it will not attempt to form a government.

If the second parliamentary group fails to present a cabinet, the President assigns a mandate to a third parliamentary group, at his choice.

If the third attempt to form a cabinet fails, the President then dissolves the Parliament by a decree, sets a new date for early elections and appoints a caretaker government.