Bulgarian government survives no-confidence vote

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Europe

The Bulgarian government on Thursday survived a parliamentary vote of no-confidence brought by the opposition Socialists who cited a lack of progress in fighting the Balkan country's rampant corruption.

Some 103 deputies in the 240-seat parliament were in favor of the first no-confidence vote against the center-right coalition cabinet led by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, while 131 deputies opposed it.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov looks on as he arrives to present the incoming EU Council Presidency priorities, at the European Parliament on Jan. 17, 2018 in Strasbourg, eastern France. /VCG Photo

It was the first vote on Borissov’s government, which came to power in May.

The opposition accused the government of “having transformed corruption into a government policy.” It said that 88.5 percent of polled participants in public procurement this year said that the bids had not been objectively assessed.

Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest country, assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the bloc two weeks ago for the first time since it joined the EU in 2007. But the country has repeatedly been subject to criticism by Brussels for failing to efficiently fight corruption or to prosecute and sentence corrupt officials.

Source(s): AP ,AFP