Bulgaria's centrist PP party seals vote of confidence

By Ihvan Radoykov

SOFIA (AA) – Ending months of political uncertainty, a four-party coalition government formed by newly elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on Monday secured a vote of confidence in the country’s parliament.

According to the Bulgarian News Agency, parliament also approved the composition and members of the new government. The vote was 134-104, with all but two lawmakers in the 240-seat parliament casting ballots.

There are five deputy prime ministers and 15 ministers in Bulgaria's 99th government. The ruling coalition includes Petkov's Continue the Change (PP) party, as well as the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the populist There Is Such a People (TISP), as well as the center-right Democratic Bulgaria (DB).

The centrist PP has 10 seats in the Cabinet while the BSP and TISP each have four seats, while the DB has three seats.

Bulgarians went to the polls three times this year. Efforts to form a coalition after the country's general elections on April 4 and July 11 were unsuccessful. Seven political parties made it past the 4% barrier in the November election.