Bulgarian govt survives 4th no-confidence motion

Sofia, July 11 (IANS) Bulgaria's six-month-old coalition government, led by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov, on Friday survived its fourth no-confidence motion in the National Assembly.

The motion, brought forward by opposition parties over alleged failures in the environment and water sectors, was supported by 83 deputies in the 240-seat legislature. Backing came from members of the Revival party, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, Greatness, and Mech, along with nearly half of the We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria alliance.

A total of 131 members of Parliament voted against the motion, including representatives from the ruling GERB-UDF coalition, BSP-United Left, There Is Such People (ITN), and the 29-seat Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning.

To succeed, a no-confidence vote must secure the backing of more than half of the Assembly's members.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Jeliazkov expressed confidence that the motion would fail, calling it a "sectoral no-confidence vote" lacking substantive grounds.

"The topic itself does not affect the work of this cabinet, and this cabinet is making efforts to resolve inherited problems," he said.

The first no-confidence motion, which criticised the government's foreign policy, failed on April 3. The second one, accusing the government of inadequately combating corruption, was rejected on April 17. The third one, filed over the government's alleged failure in its fiscal policy, shared the fate of the other two on July 4, Xinhua news agency reported.

Under Bulgaria's constitution, a no-confidence vote can be initiated by at least one-fifth of the Assembly's members. However, a second motion on the same grounds cannot be filed within a six-month period.

Jeliazkov's administration was sworn in on January 16 following Bulgaria's October 2024 snap elections, the country's seventh parliamentary election in just three and a half years.

--IANS

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