site.btaMRF-New Beginning Calls on President Iotova to Convene National Security Consultative Council

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning has called on President Iliana Iotova to convene the Consultative Council on National Security (CCNS) in response to the situation in the Middle East. Bulgaria and its citizens need nationally responsible decisions, MRF-New Beginning Deputy Floor Leader Iskra Mihaylova-Koparova told reporters in Parliament's lobby on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, other parliamentary groups also urged that the Council be convened.

Mihaylova-Koparova said that “representatives of the caretaker government created by President Iotova have been avoiding meetings with the National Assembly.“ Consultative Councils are being convened only at the government level, she noted. “Prime Minister [Andrey] Gurov does not attend parliamentary hearings or Question Time sittings. Ministers refuse to appear before the National Assembly,“ Mihaylova-Koparova added. In her view, the Cabinet is disregarding the principles of a parliamentary republic.

The MRF-New Beginning Deputy Floor Leader said that President Iotova is “both father and mother” to the caretaker Cabinet, arguing that she bears responsibility for all of its actions, including whether it complies with the Constitution. Mihaylova-Koparova added that the President is also accountable for developments within the Interior Ministry. She argued that there were consistent efforts aimed at securing political advantages and ”eliminating the right of everyone to participate in fair elections.”