The Fiftieth National Assembly () was a convocation of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, formed according to the results of the early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, held on 9 June 2024.
Positions and leadership
National Assembly Speaker and Deputy-Speakers
The opening session of the 50th National Assembly, as per tradition, was chaired by the oldest MP, Silvi Kirolov from ITN. During the first day of the opening session, as had occurred in previous parliaments, none of the candidates for speaker managed to gain a majority of 121 votes, with the GERB nominated Raya Nazaryan coming closest with 114 votes. The other candidates for the position included Petar Petrov from Revival, Silvi Kirilov from ITN and Viktoria Vasilieva from Velichie, although none managed to gather support from outside their parliamentary group. The political deadlock was broken following the decision by ITN to vote in favour of all candidates for the Speakership, thus assuring a 10-seat majority for her election. In her speech following her selection, Nazaryan appraised the work of the National Assembly and promised political impartiality.
Following this, the vice-speakers of the National Assembly were similarly selected, with one being given to each of the 7 Parliamentary Groups. On 5 July 2024, Viktoria Vassileva, who had previously been the vice-speaker from Velichie, was automatically removed as vice-speaker due to the dissolution of the Velichie parliamentary group.
Permanent committees of the National Assembly The chairperson of each of the permanent committees of the 50th National Assembly are listed below, with all being elected on 17 July, three weeks after the first session.
+CommitteeChairpersonParliamentary GroupTerm start Term End Budget and Fiscal Policy Bayram Bayram DPS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Constitutional and Judicial questions Anna Aleksandrova GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Economy and Innovations Petar Kanev BSP for Bulgaria 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Energy Delyan Dobrev GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Regional policy, development and local government Andrey Tsekov PP-DB 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Foreign Affairs Boyko Borisov GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 European Affairs and European finances Kiril Petkov PP-DB 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Defense Hristo Gadzhev GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 National Security and Internal Order Manol Manev GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Oversight over the Security Services, special surveillance tools and classified information Daniel Mitov GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Agriculture, food and forestry Ivan Ivanov BSP for Bulgaria 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Labour and Social Policy Denitsa Sacheva GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Education and Science Silvi Kirilov ITN 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Youth and Sport Kosta Stoyanov Revival 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Healthcare Aleksandr Simidchiev PP-DB 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Environment and Water Stanislav Atanasov DPS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Transport and Communication Halil Letifov DPS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 E-Governance and Informational Technologies Bozhidar Bozhanov PP-DB 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Culture and Media Angel Yanchev Revival 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Civic engagement and interactions with citizens Stanislav Balabanov ITN 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Human Rights and Religious Freedom Nadezhda Yordanova PP-DB 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Policies concerned with Bulgarians abroad Angel Georgiev Revival 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Prevention of corruption Georgi Georgiev GERB-SDS 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Tourism Tsoncho Ganev Revival 17 July 2024 11 November 2024 Demographic policies, children and families Kostadin Kostadinov Revival 17 July 2024 11 November 2024
Temporary parliamentary committees
Three temporary parliamentary committees were formed during the tenure of the 50th National Assembly.
Rulebook temporary committee
Traditionally, following the election of a speaker, a temporary committee is formed in order to review the parliament's rules. Anna Aleksandrova, from GERB, was elected with 129 votes, including the majority of GERB, DPS and Velichie MPs, as well as some MPs from PP-DB. The decision to support Anna Aleksandrova led to debates between Revival and Velichie MPs, with Revival accusing Velichie of covertly supporting GERB.
During debates about the rulebook, two proposals were made in order to not issue wages to MPs during the campaign period, as well as subject all MPs to drug tests. However, both ideas were ultimately rejected both in committee and by the plenary session.
Ivelin Mihaylov investigative committee
On 11 July, with 143 votes for, the parliament voted to form a commission to investigate potential financial crimes committed by Velichie founder and businessman, Ivelin Mihaylov. The motion to form the committee was presented by three former members of the Velichie Parliamentary Group.
During committee hearings, allegations of were heard of Mihaylov's role in various forms of financial misconduct, including: de-frauding investors, running a pyramid scheme, undertaking banking activity without a license and intimidating investors to avoid litigation. On the 24th of July, Caretaker Minister of the Interior, Kalin Stoyanov, was heard by the commission, revealing that the Ministry of Interior had begun investigating Mihaylov for financial crimes as early as 2019, however none of the cases had been prosecuted.
On 8 August, the report of the commission was officially presented before parliament, with it concluding that there was reasonable evidence of Mihaylov's participation in financial crimes such as money laundering and building a pyramid scheme. A classified part of the report was directed to the General Prosecutors Office.
Dospat investigative committee
On 1 August, a commission was formed to investigate whether the mayor of Dospat, Elin Radev, had abused his power and engaged in corrupt practices, with its tenure limited until the 1st of September. The commission's chairman was selected as Aleksandr Vulchev, from ITN.
The commission held a record-breaking seven-hour contiguous session, during which Dospat mayor, Elin Radev, members of the local administration, as well as supporters and opponents of the mayor were heard.
In early September, a report on the activity of the commission was officially prepared, however it was not adopted within the commission due to a boycott of the commission's activity by GERB. Despite this, a decision was taken by the National Assembly to send relevant information from the project-report to various law enforcement agencies.
Bozhanov-Evroto investigative committee
In addition to the above listed committees, the parliament voted to extend the work of the temporary committee from the 49th National Assembly investigating the assassination of suspected Bulgarian mafia member, Martin "The Notary" Bozhanov and the potential role of another suspected member of the Bulgarian mafia, Pepi Evroto, in it. The formation of the committee was supported by 117 votes, with 107 votes against coming from GERB and DPS. Former justice minister in the Petkov Government, Nadezhda Yordanova, was selected as the committees chairwoman. One of the most notable events in the committees activity was the unexpected appearance of DPS co-chairman, Delyan Peevski, to a hearing before the committee, which Peevski used in order to insinuate illegal activity from PP-DB. Members of the committee from PP-DB, in turn have accused GERB and DPS of obstructing the work of the committee. Ultimately, the committee did not produce a report on its activity by the end of the 50th National Assembly.
Parliamentary groups
7 Parliamentary Groups were registered at the opening session of the 50th National Assembly.
GERB-SDS
Name of GroupSeats Opening Session Dissolution GERB—SDS
The parliamentary group's leadership was as follows:
+PositionName Political PartyTerm start Term End Parliamentary Group Chair Boyko Borisov GERB 20 June 2024 11 November 2024 Parliamentary Group Vice-Chair Denitsa Sacheva GERB 20 June 2024 11 November 2024 Raya Nazaryan GERB Temenuzhka Petkova GERB Rumen Hristov SDS Parliamentary Group Secretary Aleksandar Nenkov GERB 20 June 2024 11 November 2024
Group developments
The partisan breakdown of the seats within the parliamentary group is as follows.
Name of PartySeats Opening Session Dissolution GERB SDS George's Day
The parliamentary group had no changes in its composition or leadership between the convocation and disbanding of the 50th National Assembly.
DPS
Name of GroupSeats Opening Session Dissolution DPS
The parliamentary group's leadership was as follows:
+PositionName Political PartyTerm start Term End Parliamentary Group Chair Delyan Peevski DPS 20 June 2024 11 November 2024 Parliamentary Group Vice-chair Erten Anisova DPS 20 June 2024 11 November 2024 Iskra Mihaylova DPS Yordan Tsonev DPS Halil Letifov DPS Hamid Hamid DPS Bayram Bayram DPS 26 June 2024 Parliamentary Group Secretary Elvan Gyurkash DPS 20 June 2024 11 November 2024
Parliamentary group developments
On 25 June, long-time DPS MP, Filiz Hyusmenova, resigned as an MP citing poor electoral results in her constituency of Varna She was replaced by MP-candidate Hyusni Hasan Adem.
On 27 June, first-time MP, Aysel Rufad, was expelled from the DPS Parliamentary Group, with no official reason being provided. On 3 July, long-time MP from Plovdiv-Province, Ramadan Atalay, was unanimously expelled from the DPS Parliamentary Group, after the province-leadership of the party removed their confidence from the MP due to a decrease in votes. Shortly thereafter, MP from Targovishte Province, Dzheyhan Ibryamov, was similarly expelled from the group due to a withdrawal of confidence by the province leadership.
On 11 July, 17 MPs in the group, including co-chairman Dzhevdet Chakarov, were expelled, in what was widely considered a by-product of the conflict between Parliamentary Group Chairman, Delyan Peevski, and DPS Honorary Chairman, Ahmed Dogan. Two MPs, Ahmed Vranchev and Dimitar Nikolov, left the DPS Parliamentary Group in solidarity with the expelled. Following the split of the group, 25 MPs remained in the official DPS Parliamentary Group.
On 12 July, two more DPS MPs, Myumum Myumum and Ibraim Zaydenov, left the parliamentary group in support of the expelled. Hyusni Adem, another DPS MP, left the group on the 17th of July.
By the end of the 50th National Assembly, the official DPS Parliamentary Group had only 22 members, with the majority of the original group sitting as independents.
PP-DB
Name of GroupSeats Opening Session Dissolution PP-DB
The parliamentary group's leadership is as follows:
+PositionName Political PartyTerm start Term End Parliamentary Group Chair Nikolay Denkov PP 20 June 2024 11 November 2024 Parliamentary Group Vice-chair Bozhidar Bozhanov Yes, Bulgaria! 20 June 2024 11 November 2024 Kalina Konstantinova PP Lyudmila Ilieva DSB Stoyu Stoev PP Parliamentary Group Secretary Tatyana Sultanova-Siveva PP 20 June 2024 11 November 2024
Parliamentary group developments
The partisan breakdown of the Parliamentary Group was as follows:
PartySeats Opening Session Dissolution PP & affiliated independents Yes, Bulgaria! DSB
Leader of Yes, Bulgaria!, Hristo Ivanov, announced shortly after the election results that he would resign as an MP in the next parliament. After being sworn in, Ivanov resigned on 21 June. He was replaced by Stoyan Mihalev, a member of DSB, who was sworn in on 26 June.
Revival
Name of GroupSeats Opening Session Dissolution Revival
The parliamentary group's leadership was as follows: