Raya Nazaryan Elected Chair of Bulgaria’s National Assembly

On Thursday, Raya Nazaryan, a member of the GERB-UDF party, was elected as the Chair of Bulgaria’s National Assembly. She received 131 votes in favor, while 66 MPs voted against and 39 abstained. Nazaryan’s election was supported by her party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), and the There Is Such a People (TISP) party.

Nazaryan’s election became possible after TISP deputy leader Toshko Yordanov announced that his party would support all nominations. GERB leader Boyko Borisov thanked TISP and its leader Slavi Trifonov for their support, expressing disappointment that the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition did not back Nazaryan’s nomination.

Four MPs were nominated for the position of National Assembly Chair. The voting results for the other candidates were as follows:

- Silvi Kirilov of TISP: 17 votes in favor, 108 against, and 108 abstentions.

- Petar Petrov of Vazrazhdane: 53 votes in favor, 111 against, and 71 abstentions.

- Yuliana Mateeva of Velichie: 13 votes in favor, 105 against, and 105 abstentions.

Under the Bulgarian Constitution, electing a chairperson of the National Assembly requires a simple majority of the MPs present. The parliamentary seat distribution is as follows: GERB-UDF has 68 seats, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms 47, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria 39, Vazrazhdane 38, BSP for Bulgaria 19, TISP 16, and Velichie 13.

Raya Nazaryan was born in Varna on September 16, 1985. She has over 12 years of experience practicing law, specializing in areas such as the law of obligations, real law, insurance law, family law, and succession law. Nazaryan has significant experience in commercial, civil, and administrative proceedings before Bulgarian courts. She is also a specialist in mediation and out-of-court settlements of legal disputes and is a member of the Sofia Bar Association. She co-founded a law firm and has been elected MP for a third term as of June 9, topping the GERB-UDF candidates list in Sofia's Multimember Constituency No. 24. Nazaryan entered politics in 2022 and is single with one child.

GERB leader Boyko Borisov emphasized the importance of electing a National Assembly chair to avoid a constitutional crisis and ensure the continuation of elections. Borisov stated that the largest political force is historically entitled to nominate the chair, and the process is essential for cabinet-forming negotiations.

Earlier in the day, MRF leader Delyan Peevski urged the formation of a stable Euro-Atlantic government to keep Bulgaria on its path and avoid influence from external forces. He mentioned that if the constitutional procedure for forming a cabinet fails, new elections would be necessary.