GERB and DPS removed the quorum in order not to remove Rosen Zhelyazkov, there are also 8 from PP-DB and 6 from BSP (Updated)

Today’s session of the parliament began with a false start, the first point of which was the removal of the speaker of the parliament, Rosen Zhelyazkov. It could not start at all, since there was no quorum in the hall.

Only 117 MPs registered – one from GERB-SDS, 55 from PP-DB, 0 from DPS, 34 from “Vazrazhdane”, 17 from BSP, 9 from “There is such a people” and only one from independent MPs.

The proponents of the request for the removal of Zhelyazkov are PP-DB and BSP, but if it comes to a vote in the hall, “Vazrazhdane” will also support them. The three formations have a total of 120 deputies. Thus, the decision of the four independent deputies would be key in the vote to remove the head of the parliament. However, only one of them registered this morning.

Zhelyazkov gave 30 minutes of rest, after which there will be another attempt. It is possible that today’s meeting will fail entirely.

Quorum games are a frequently used tactic in the plenary. In order to start the session for the day, at least 50%+1 of the deputies must be registered at its start. If there are not 121 people in the plenary hall, a second and third registration attempt is made, after which the meeting is closed.

For example, there was a failure of the quorum in mid-December, when GERB, PP-DB and DPS did not appear in the plenary hall as a response to the behavior of the opposition. A day earlier, MPs from “Vazrazhdane”, BSP and ITN occupied the parliamentary tribune as a sign of protest against the dismantling of the Monument to the Soviet Army. Thus, the parliament does not sit for two days in a row because of political skirmishes.

In November, due to the lack of a quorum, the vote of no confidence in the “Denkov” cabinet for mismanagement in the field of defense, submitted by the BSP, “Vazrazhdane” and ITN, was voted only the third time. On the first day, GERB and DPS did not register because of the delayed derogation of Russian oil, and then the government was saved only thanks to 66 MPs from the PP-DB against 61 from the opposition. Thus, for the first time in parliamentary history, a vote of no confidence was voted over three days in two weeks.