Parliament defeated a motion of no-confidence in the government by 135 to 74, with three abstentions, in an open ballot vote on Friday.
The motion was filed the previous Friday by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, for what they described as the government’s inability to combat crime. This was the fourth motion for no-confidence in the United Democratic Forces (UtdDF) that has been voted down by the present Parliament.
The 119 MPs of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), the 11 MPs of the Popular Union, and four independent MPs all voted against the no-confidence motion. It was supported by 57 MPs from the BSP, 14 MPs from the Alliance for National Salvation (ANS), and three independent MPs.
As declared beforehand, the Euroleft did not participate in the vote. The three abstentions were all from independent MPs.
“The vote demonstrates the groundlessness of the reasoning behind the motion – that the government lacks the confidence needed to carry out the additional anti-crime measures it has mapped out,” said Prime Minister Ivan Kostov in his address to the MPs after the vote.
Kostov commented on the European approach to debate, which constituted the Euroleft’s position, explaining that the June parliamentary elections would be a more important expression of confidence or no-confidence.
“One-hundred and thirty-five votes for the government are a really overwhelming majority,” said President Petar Stoyanov. “The vote secures stability in the period before the elections,” he added.
The motion was filed the previous Friday by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, for what they described as the government’s inability to combat crime. This was the fourth motion for no-confidence in the United Democratic Forces (UtdDF) that has been voted down by the present Parliament.
The 119 MPs of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), the 11 MPs of the Popular Union, and four independent MPs all voted against the no-confidence motion. It was supported by 57 MPs from the BSP, 14 MPs from the Alliance for National Salvation (ANS), and three independent MPs.
As declared beforehand, the Euroleft did not participate in the vote. The three abstentions were all from independent MPs.
“The vote demonstrates the groundlessness of the reasoning behind the motion – that the government lacks the confidence needed to carry out the additional anti-crime measures it has mapped out,” said Prime Minister Ivan Kostov in his address to the MPs after the vote.
Kostov commented on the European approach to debate, which constituted the Euroleft’s position, explaining that the June parliamentary elections would be a more important expression of confidence or no-confidence.
“One-hundred and thirty-five votes for the government are a really overwhelming majority,” said President Petar Stoyanov. “The vote secures stability in the period before the elections,” he added.
