Bulgarian MPs Give Themselves Pre-election Break

The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament voted Wednesday to not have any sessions from October 12 until October 23, the day of the local and presidential elections.

The decision was passed mainly with the vote of the MPs from the ruling, center –right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party. The opposition on the left were against on the grounds the decision is in violation of the Constitution while the right wing protested that it is an attempt of those in power to "shut the opposition's mouth."

The proposal, which also bans MPs from using government-issued vehicles for the said period, was submitted by the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, and her Deputy, Anastas Anastasov, both from GERB.

It gives all MPs an 18-day break since the Parliament convenes on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays while the MPs have Mondays and Tuesday to be in the locations where they have been elected.

The proposal was backed by 90 independent MPs and MPs from GERB.

The grounds of the proposal stem from the desire to stop MPs from using the parliamentary tribune for election campaigning, which is often spread further by radio and TV broadcasts, in violation of the Election Code and places candidates of parties and formations that are not parliamentary represented in a disadvantaged position.

Tsacheva assuaged fears of censorship. She also announced that in the upcoming days before the elections, MPs will continue work with the respective parliamentary committees.