site.btaUPDATED 191 out of 240 MPs Have Unjustified Absences from Plenary Sessions in October

A total of 191 out of 240 MPs have had unjustified absences from plenary sessions in October, according to data published on the National Assembly website. This is an increase of 86 MPs compared to the previous month.

GERB-UDF is the parliamentary group with the most absent MPs at 66. One of them has three unjustified absences, and the rest have two. GERB-UDF is followed by Vazrazhdane with 30 MPs, the MRF - New Beginning with 29, There Is Such a People with 17, BSP - United Left with 16, MECh with 11, Velichie with 10, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria with 9, the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms with 2, and the independent MP Mario Rangelov with one.

The leader of the MRF - New Beginning, Delyan Peevski, accumulated the most unjustified absences with five. GERB-UDF's Branimir Balachev and the MRF - New Beginning's Dimitar Avramov each have three, while 121 other MPs have two, and 67 MPs have one.

Most unjustified absences took place on October 15, 16 and 17, when Parliament did not convene due to lack of quorum.

According to the Rules of Organization and Procedure of the National Assembly, members of parliament are required to attend National Assembly sessions. Members who need to be absent from a session for valid reasons must notify the Speaker of Parliament in advance. MPs are entitled to paid annual leave, which coincides with the recesses of the National Assembly, and are not entitled to unpaid leave.

According to the Rules of Procedure, MPs receive a basic monthly salary equal to three average monthly salaries in the public sector, based on data from the National Statistical Institute. The basic monthly remuneration is recalculated every quarter, taking into account the average monthly salary for the last month of the previous quarter.

In the event of an unjustified absence from a plenary session, a deduction equal to the daily remuneration of the member of parliament shall be made. In the event of an unjustified absence from three consecutive or a total of five plenary sessions for the respective month, a deduction equal to two-thirds of the monthly remuneration shall be made. When, due to lack of quorum, the session is not opened or is terminated, MPs who were absent from the session for unjustified reasons shall have a deduction equal to two-thirds of their daily remuneration.