Nataliya Kiselova, from the Bulgarian Socialist Party-United Left parliamentary grouping, won the vote with 140-93, thanks in part to support from the GERB-UDF, the largest group in Bulgaria’s 240-seat parliament.
Her election ends a state of chaos in parliament that had seen numerous candidates for speaker proposed only to fall short in the vote owing to a lack of support from the fractious political environment in the house.
The lack of the speaker, and the possibility that parliament would grind to halt, was also holding up attempts to establish a new government in Bulgaria.
The October election was Bulgaria’s seventh in three years as the country grapples with a prolonged period of political instability that has seen numerous governments come and go while little progress was made on tackling key issues, such as corruption.
With a speaker in command parliament can now concentrate on forming a government although hopes of this happening remain slim. Although the GERB-UDF has, with 69, the most seats it falls well short of a majority and therefore needs to form a coalition.
It has so far failed to do this, prompting fears that another snap election could be called. This could undermine the faith Bulgarians’ have in the country’s democratic process that has already been dented by the chronic instability.
Kiselova referred to the need for stability while accepting the post of speaker saying that Bulgarian need to hear “first is that there is hope and it is that the country will return to the normal course of governance.”
“Second – sweat and tears. It will not be easy. The efforts must be worth it, because Bulgarian citizens want a state that thinks about them.”
