The no confidence vote debates in the Bulgaria Parliament began with a scandal Thursday, after the majority rejected the opposition's request to have the session aired live on the national radio and TV.

After two recounts of the vote, on the demand of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, the majority of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party, decided to hold the debates despite the Day of Mourning for the eight victims of the fatal Wednesday bus crash, but without a live broadcast.

The DPS MP, Yordan Tsonev, commented GERB was using the tragedy to deprive Bulgarian public from witnessing the debates.

The opposition focused the blame on the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, for not wanting to postpone the debates over the Day of Mourning, but banning the broadcasts.

"What is happening here is despicable. Bulgarian citizens will have to look for the notes from the debates as apocryphal literature," BSP MP, Maya Manolova said.

The attacks were made in the presence of a number of ministers from the cabinet,  who came in plenary hall for the debates, triggering an emotional reaction from Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, who accused the opposition of turning the Parliament into the Big Brother show.

His statement was met with applause by the GERB MPs. After hesitation and consultations between key figures from the opposition and despite several appeals of former EU Funds Minister from BSP, Meglena Plugchieva, asking colleagues to leave in sign of protest, the debates were launched.

The right-wing Blue Coalition, however, left plenary hall, as they have previously announced they would not take part in the debates and the vote because they did not want to support BSP and DPS nor the cabinet.

The far-right, nationalist Ataka, with 17 MPs, who, until Thursday, were yet to declare their position on the vote, have also left the Parliament.

Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, have been a no-show so far.

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