Bulgarian union federation threatens strike unless Grand National Assembly convened
In its first statement on the political crisis in Bulgaria after three weeks of anti-government protests, trade union confederation Podkrepa said that the only way out of the crisis was to convene a Grand National Assembly – and threatened a nationwide strike unless state institutions comply with this demand.
In a media statement on July 7 2013, the 24th consecutive day of protests that have drawn many thousands of people to the streets of Sofia and other cities to demand electoral reforms and the immediate resignation of the Bulgarian Socialist Party government, Podkrepa said that Bulgaria was an in an “unprecedented” crisis.
The 42nd National Assembly faced an irreparable moral deficit of trust.
The state was in decline and the administration was paralysed.
The country was seeing a confrontation that had built up in the past 23 years of painful transition that had led to unprecedented poverty, robbery, criminal behaviour, hopelessness, moral and spiritual decline and the displacement of the country’s young and intelligent people.
The only correct way out of the situation was for the President to request the convening of a Grand National Assembly and for electoral law reforms that would see 50 per cent of MPs elected by majoritarian vote, the trade union federation said.
According to Bulgaria’s constitution, a Grand National Assembly consists of 400 members elected in accordance with current electoral law.
A resolution by the National Assembly announcing elections for a Grand National Assembly requires a majority of two-thirds of the votes of all members of the National Assembly.
The President has to schedule the elections for a Grand National Assembly within three months of the National Assembly’s resolution being approved.
The term of office of the National Assembly expires with the holding of elections for a Grand National Assembly. To pass a bill, the Grand National Assembly requires a majority of two-thirds of the votes of all its members, in three ballots on three different days.
The constitution says that a Grand National Assembly may decide only on the constitutional amendment bills for which it has been elected.
(Photo: BNR)
