Parliament did not sit on Tuesday due to a lack of quorum. Only 80 members of the 240-seat National Assembly registered at the second attempt to open an extraordinary sitting called at MPs’ request in connection with the pardon of drug dealer Ognyan Atanasov.
They included three MPs from Progressive Bulgaria, 28 from GERB-UDF, 16 from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, 18 from Democratic Bulgaria, 13 from Continue the Change (CC) and two from Vazrazhdane.
After the second registration, National Assembly Chair Mihaela Dotsova said that there is no quorum, therefore the sitting cannot be held.
The hearing was to focus on Atanasov’s pardon, granted to him in 2022 by the then vice president and current president of Bulgaria, Iliana Iotova, and on a fight between inmates at the prison hospital on November 16, 2022.
The sitting was due to hear Chief Commissioner Ivaylo Yordanov, head of the General Directorate for Execution of Punishments, as well as Sofia Prison Governor Senior Commissioner Svetoslav Penov and Vasil Kordev, who headed Sofia Prison in November and December 2022.
On October 5, CC called on Iotova to provide documents and information explaining the grounds on which Atanasov was granted a pardon. The request concerns a video that the party claims shows Atanasov taking part in a fight between inmates at the prison hospital on November 16, 2022, three weeks before he was pardoned on December 5.
Following is a soundbite from comments on the matter by the political forces:
Progressive Bulgaria Floor Leader Petar Vitanov: Atanasov has had “a stroke, peritonitis, leukaemia, and dementia” and stated that he is “suffering from conditions that are incompatible with life”.
Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Chair Delyan Peevski: No matter how much the people in power try to explain themselves, they simply shamefully hid. They did [President Iliana] Iotova a disservice by doing so, effectively acknowledging everything that happened. The question is: given that her signature was on the document, who instructed her to sign it? That is why they hid.
Yes, Bulgaria Co-Chair and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) MP Bozhidar Bozhanov: Progressive Bulgaria (PB) “shielded” President Iliana Iotova and prevented a parliamentary hearing on Atanasov’s pardon. The public had again been left without answers as to how Atanasov was pardoned despite allegations that he had been involved in a fight at a prison hospital. Today you saw once again how PB concealed information about the pardon of a drug trafficker. DB is pursuing institutional avenues to establish how Atanasov had been released. Bulgaria needs a president who would act decisively and be transparent about pardons, and Iotova does not meet that standard.
Vazrazhdane MP Tsontcho Ganev: This is truly an extremely unpleasant situation. From a purely political point of view, it would be appropriate – to put it mildly – for [President Iliana] Iotova to leave the office of the president and withdraw from the election campaign.
Parliament Fails to Hold Extraordinary Sitting over Ognyan Atanasov Pardon Due to Lack of Quorum 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-13 09:31:00
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