Bulgaria Parliament Chair: Not Enough Time for Election Code Changes

Bulgarian Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva has said that the current Parliament has too little time and public trust to adopt the Election Code amendments sought by the protesters.

In a Monday interview for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), she said that the current Parliament would seek to solve urgent tasks in its last few days in office and would not adopt last-minute changes to the Election Code.

Tsacheva explained that bills concerning the water sector, pre-school and school education, and national security, would not be completed before the dissolution of Parliament.

She noted that Bulgaria's Parliament would be dissolved on March 14-15 through a presidential decree, as required by the Constitution.

The Chair of Bulgaria's 41st National Assembly further explained that she had realized that the balance between financial discipline and the job creation policy had been disturbed when Bulgarians took to the streets to protest against high electricity bills and monopolies.

Tsacheva suggested that Bulgaria's EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva would consider an option of Bulgaria withdrawing a loan to boost incomes, adding that the step would be taken by the Cabinet to be appointed after the early elections, not by the caretaker government.

She emphasized that she expected the caretaker government to calm down social tensions, monitor the exact implementation of the budget, and hold elections which would not be contested.

Bulgaria's center-right GERB government resigned on February 20 amid mass protests over high electricity and heating bills and low incomes.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has set the date for early elections at May 12.