site.btaDemocracy, Rights and Freedoms Parliamentary Group Will Back No-Confidence Motion

The Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF) Parliamentary Group will support the no-confidence motion against the Zhelyazkov Cabinet. "The government was elected exactly three months ago with the backing of the MRF [Movement for Rights and Freedoms] with Ahmed Dogan as Honorary Chair," the group said in a declaration read out in Parliament by DRF’s MP Hyusni Adem on Wednesday. He recalled that by supporting the adoption of the state budget, the DRF MPs have acted as statespersons first and politicians next.

"The endless cycle of elections in this country had to stop," Adem said. "DRF still wants Bulgaria to have political stability, to have a budget – that, although not perfect, is at least workable after several caretaker cabinets plunged the country into a crisis". In Adem's words, “what we are witnessing is not the normalcy expected but the opposite - a corrupt country dependent on a single individual. An individual that gave us a reason to form this majority so we can dismantle [the Peevski model], signing a cordon sanitaire declaration, alongside power-sharing coalition partners BSP-United Left and There Is Such a People”.

“Three months after this government was formed, maintaining the reasons for which we initially joined [the coalition], we firmly and categorically state that we will support the no-confidence motion,” Adem said. "The biggest problem in this country today appears to be corruption which is all pervasive, from the top tiers of government down to the lowest-level office in public institutions," he added.

The DRF declaration further says that "instead of dismantling this vicious model, in recent months we have witnessed its consolidation. Government institutions continue to be used as bludgeons, the judicial system is ever more dependent, and corruption and illegal trade are burgeoning," Adem said.

"Despite our consistent calls for compliance with the joint governance agreement and an open relationship on an equal footing among the partners, GERB-UDF, BSP-United Left and TISP have regrettably abandoned the cordon sanitaire [around Peevski]. Guided by our responsibility to the Bulgarian people and our supporters, we clearly state that we can no longer and will no longer support a majority that supports and develops this model of backstage politics," Adem said.