site.btaNo Opposition Rights Are Being Restricted by Proposed Parliamentary Rules Changes, Says Parliament Chair

There is no restriction of opposition rights in the proposed amendments to Parliament's rules of procedure, National Assembly Chair Michaela Dotsova told journalists in Rome on Thursday.

"I cannot say there is a problem with the rules of procedure," she said, adding that amendments to the rules are normal at the beginning of every parliament.

Sitting on Wednesday, the competent parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee approved further provisions of new draft Rules of Organization and Procedure of the National Assembly moved by Progressive Bulgaria.

Dotsova noted that some of the proposals put forward by Progressive Bulgaria restore provisions that had existed in parliamentary rules in the past. According to her, the changes are aimed at speeding up the legislative process and restoring institutional normality.

"There is no deprivation of voice; the proposals are being exaggerated," Dotsova said in response to opposition criticism.

"There are no restrictions on MPs' rights," she added. Regarding the so-called opposition day, she explained that only hearings would be removed because the parliamentary rules stipulate that parliamentary oversight, including hearings, takes place every Friday during the final three hours of the parliamentary week.

"The approach we are proposing is for parliamentary oversight to return to what was until recently its traditional place," Dotsova said.

She added that the opposition day was primarily created to allow opposition parties to table draft legislation that would otherwise not make it onto the agenda, and that this mechanism remains intact.

"In no way are opposition rights being restricted," she said.

Dotsova and a parliamentary delegation led by her are on a two-day visit to Rome and the Vatican for the May 24 celebrations marking the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture, and Slavic literature.