Bulgaria’s National Assembly was expected to vote on November 26 2009 on whether to remove Emilia Maslarova, the Bulgarian Socialist Party MP accused of embezzlement during her time in office as a cabinet minister, as chairperson of Parliament’s committee on labour and social policy.
 
Earlier in November, Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev asked MPs to vote to remove Maslarova’s immunity from prosecution that she has under Bulgarian law by virtue of being an MP. Maslarova voluntarily renounced her immunity before the matter was tabled for debate.
 
On November 25, the committee voted 14 to five to oust Maslarova as its chairperson. A visibly emotional Maslarova left the committee room while the vote was being taken.
 
The motion for the National Assembly to approve her axing as chairperson of the committee was tabled by the co-leaders of the right-wing Blue Coalition, Union of Democratic Forces leader Martin Dimitrov and Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria leader Ivan Kostov.
 
Maslarova was minister of labour and social policy in the 2005 to 2009 cabinet headed by her party leader, Sergei Stanishev.
 
Maslarova is accused of abusing her office in connection with the awarding of a contract, for an excessive sum of money, to refurbish a social services centre in Stara Zagora. Charges reportedly relate to Maslarova having embezzled more than 9.8 million leva, and the purchase of a building for close to 6.5 million when the building was unsuitable for the purpose for which it was intended.
 
Kostov said that Bulgaria’s biggest problems were crime and corruption, and it was immoral for an MP to be a chairperson of a parliamentary committee while prosecutors said that she should be on trial for corruption.
 
Maslarova rejects the allegations against her and says that the decisions about the spending of money were made elsewhere and not by her.