Changes to the NSO Law: Heated Debates in Parliament

Today, MPs in the National Assembly adopted the first reading of amendments to the National Security Service (NSS) Act, submitted by MP Kalin Stoyanov from the "DPS-Novo Nazalo" parliamentary group, with 95 votes "for" and 83 "against".

The decision to include the item on the agenda provoked heated debates in the plenary hall, marked by mutual accusations between representatives of different parliamentary groups.

Tensions escalated when "Vazrazhdane" strongly opposed the discussion of the bill, accusing their colleagues from "Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (CC-DB) of ensuring the quorum for the vote.

MP Tsoncho Ganev made harsh accusations, asking the rhetorical question "Why did those with "Freedom for Blago" T-shirts ensure a quorum to get us here and pass Pevksi"s legislation?". He directly accused CC-DB of serving Pevksi"s interests, calling them "corrupt".

The Speaker of Parliament, Nataliya Kiselova, replied that "you are getting into the substance of the debate, not the procedure".

However, the debates continued with Yordan Ivanov from CC-DB, who urged Kiselova to take a more active position and explain to the MPs seeking to break the quorum that a vote of no confidence is scheduled at the end of the session. Ivanov stressed that the lack of quorum and the failure to register MPs hinders the vote of no confidence.

Petar Petrov from "Vazrazhdane", in turn, stated that the time of the vote is irrelevant; what matters is which parliamentary groups have registered. He directly accused eighteen MPs from Democratic Bulgaria of ensuring the quorum for the adoption of the bill.

The amendments to the NSS Act, voted on in the first reading and on September 11 by the Committee on Internal Security and Public Order, provide for the abolition of the NSS"s function of providing transport services for the presidential administration.

This decision caused clear concerns among the opposition parties, who see it as another attempt to limit control and transparency in state institutions.

The atmosphere in the parliamentary hall was tense, with numerous speeches further intensified by mutual accusations of lack of transparency and corrupt practices. The clear dissatisfaction of "Vazrazhdane_q_ and the harsh remarks from the parliamentary rostrum highlight the ongoing political conflict shaking the Bulgarian parliament.