GERB party

The Bulgarian National Assembly has adopted the annual report of the Counter-Corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture Commission. It was supported by 76 MPs, as 35 abstained.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov arrives at the EU summit in Brussels, October 2, 2020. EPA-EFE/Olivier Matthys / POOL

Borissov criticized Radev's decision, saying it was hard to know how the pandemic would unfold by late March and implying that elections should be delayed.

Police clash with protesters during a protest in Sofia on September 2, 2020, the day PM Boyko Borissov's cabinet agreed on a new draft of the constitution. Photo: EPA-EFE/Borislav Troshev

Bulgaria's ruling GERB party was called upon by the Venice Commission to remove the untouchability of the prosecutor general after its members carried out a quick review of the draft "new constitution" of the government. This is the fourth consecutive analysis of the Bulgarian law carried out by the authoritative international commission, which leads up to such a call.

Parliament rejected the proposed changes to gambling by Valery Simeonov and the NFSB that impose restrictions on the opening of casinos and gambling halls.

Only 22 deputies voted "for" casinos and gambling halls to be situated only in the five-star hotels and along the border. 127 MPs abstained and four voted against,

Bulgaria's Parliament on May 20 elected Diana Kovacheva as national ombudsman with 173 votes in favour, none against and three abstentions.

She was the only candidate for the post and has been in office since September, after former national ombudsperson Maya Manolova resigned in order to run in the local government elections.

Some two thousand supporters of a fringe ultra-nationalist and pro-Russian party marched through central Sofia on Thursday accusing the government of imposing confusing restrictions aimed at combating the coronavirus.

Bulgaria's MPs on April 6 voted to forgo their salaries as of April 1 for the duration of the coronavirus state of emergency. The proposal came this evening from the ruling GERB party and received unanimous support from 170 MPs and all parliamentary groups, BNT reported.

President Rumen Radev announced on Tuesday that he is withdrawing his support from the government coalition made up of the GERB party, which has been in power for a decade, and the United Patriots.

"Today, the division is not between left and right, the capital and the provinces, but between vicious power and millions of honourable Bulgarians," Radev said.

The organisers of the Lukov March, commemorating the memory of controversial Bulgarian general Hristo Lukov, said on their website last week that their 17th annual nationalist march will be held on February 22, the date on which Lukov was assassinated.

The announcement came despite the prosecution announcing on Friday that it will examine whether or not the march is legal.