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Bulgaria heads towards early Parliamentary elections

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Ten days after the elections for European Parliament in Bulgaria the smaller coalition partner in Oresharski cabinet- the Movement for Rights and Freedoms has demanded the resignation of the government later this autumn and early Parliamentary elections by end 2014. The request has literally shaken the information field this week and gave a clear signal that the expert Bulgarian cabinet is exhausted and needs to be changed with a new government in line with the sovereign’s will. The cabinet formed one year ago with the support of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with the tacit support of the nationalistic Ataka party was a result of the political crisis which loomed in Bulgaria after the massive street protests in the winter of 2013. The public discontent led to the resignation of former Borissov cabinet and early Parliamentary elections held in May 2013. GERB led by former Premier Boyko Borissov again won the elections, but it failed to find a majority (of 121 MPs) at the 42nd Bulgarian National Assembly, in order to form a government. Thus, the second political party the Bulgarian Socialist Party headed by Sergey Stanishev, also a leader of the Party of the European Socialists, took the mandate of the current cabinet in coalition with the smaller MRF party. The unstable government was almost knocked down in the beginning of its mandate due to doubtful appointments and the massive civil protests which have lasted for over 350 days and demanded the cabinets’ resignation. The elections for European Parliament held on May 25, 2014, again reconfirmed the lack of confidence towards the cabinet and its future political failure. Moreover, the Bulgarian Socialist Party suffered at these elections a massive defeat by their main rival GERB. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms was the first party of the ruling coalition which reacted to the election results. MRF leader Lutvi Mestan surprisingly requested the resignation of Oresharski cabinet and early Parliamentary elections to the dismay of his political partners in the government. One day later BSP announced that it would start consultations with the political parties represented at the current National Assembly and other political parties about early elections. The response of the other political parties at the National Assembly showed that practically there was no alternative to early Parliamentary elections. Only the date of these elections is yet to be named.




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