National Assembly speaker and deputy speakers Speaker elections The opening session of the 51st National Assembly, as per tradition, was chaired by the oldest MP,
Silvi Kirilov from ITN, who had also chaired the opening session of the preceding parliament. Five candidacies were presented for the Speakership in the first attempt to elect a speaker: former Speaker of the
50th National Assembly,
Raya Nazaryan, from
GERB-SDS, former minister of regional development and PP-DB MP
Andrey Tsekov, Revival MP
Petar Petrov, BSP MP
Natalia Kiselova, and ITN MP
Nikoleta Kuzmanova. During the voting, most parliamentary groups voted along party lines, with the exception of
MECh and
APS, who voted in support of all candidates with the exception of Nazaryan, while DPS-NN voted against all the candidates. Ultimately, Raya Nazaryan and Andrey Tsekov proceeded into a second round, in which neither candidate managed to gain the necessary support for a majority. The same 5 candidates were nominated, indicating that no deal had been made between the political parties in the preceding day. All the candidates received a similar number of votes as to the first attempt, with neither Nazaryan nor Tsekov being able to gain the votes necessary for a majority. A third attempt was undertaken on 15 November with a similar outcome, although, unlike in prior rounds, ITN nominated Silvi Kirilov (who had been chairing the proceedings as the oldest MP) and MECh changed their position from voting in favour of all non-GERB candidates to abstaining. On 20 November, a fourth attempt to elect a speaker was undertaken. Prior to the vote, PP-DB announced that they would withdraw the candidacy of Andrey Tsekov and instead support the candidacy of Silvi Kirilov from ITN. Thus, four candidacies were initially nominated: Raya Nazaryan from GERB-SDS, Petar Petrov from Revival, Natalia Kiselova from BSP - OL and Silvi Kirilov from ITN. Presenting the candidacy of Kirilov, ITN MP, Toshko Yordanov, implied that the selection of Kirilov may also enable a change in the
current Caretaker Government and allow for the operation of parliament until a stable majority is formed. Following the nomination of the candidates, heated debate took place between, primarily, representatives of ITN and Vazrazdhane on the one hand, and representatives of
Yes, Bulgaria! and the
BSP on the other. The vote yielded a similar result as in the previous attempt 2 days ago, with Kirilov entering into a runoff with Nazaryan and receiving 101 votes in favour, while Nazaryan received 69. On 28 November, a seventh attempt to elect a speaker took place. The same four candidates as in previous rounds were initially nominated and received similar levels of support as in prior rounds, with Kirilov and Nazaryan proceeding to the second round. The debate became increasingly heated due to clashes between MPs from ITN and Revival on the one hand, and BSP, Yes, Bulgaria! and DSB on the other. Following the first round, which yielded similar results, a long break was scheduled, during which MP
Bozhidar Bozhanov claimed that representatives of the
Democratic Bulgaria parties had agreed to support Kirilov . During the first round vote, Kirilov once again received the support of MPs from PP, APS, ITN and MECh, meanwhile, Kiselova was supported by MPs from GERB and BSP; thus enabling the two candidates to enter a run-off. Ultimately, however, Atanasov did not enter the second round, and received only 56 votes, with a similar outcome to previous attempts in the subsequent runoff between Kiselova and Kirilov. Finally, on 6 December, after BSP - United Left signed the PP-DB declaration promising a cordon sanitaire against DPS-NN, Natalia Kiselova was elected as speaker with 140 votes (from GERB, PP-DB, BSP-OL and APS). On 29 October 2025, as part of an agreement within the governing coalition, Nataliya Kiselova resigned as speaker of the National Assembly. Raya Nazaryan, nominated by GERB-SDS, was subsequently elected with the votes of 129 MPs coming from the GERB-SDS, DPS-NN, BSP-UL and ITN parliamentary groups.
Deputy Speaker Elections 7 deputy speakers were selected promptly after the election of Kiselova as speaker of the National Assembly from the parliamentary groups of GERB-SDS, PP-DB, BSP-OL, DPS, ITN and MECh. The election was boycotted by representatives of DPS-NN, who did not present their own candidate nor were present for the vote. On 21 March 2025, Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Nataliya Kiselova, dissolved the Parliamentary Group of MECh, meaning the groups representative as deputy speaker, Radostin Vasilev, vacated his position. However, following the re-formation of the MECh Parliamentary Group 26 March, the National Assembly voted to restore Radostin Vasilev as Vice-Speaker. Additionally, Juliana Mateeva was elected as deputy speaker of the National Assembly, nominated by the Velichie parliamentary group, which had been formed following a partial annulment of the election results by the Constitutional Court.
Permanent Committees of the National Assembly The chairpersons of each of the permanent committees of the 51st National Assembly are listed below, with all being elected on 22 January, two months after the first session. Representatives of the parliamentary opposition did not receive any positions. } Скандал между хората на Доган и Пеевски. Йордан Цонев: Успешно се нарекохме "Ново Начало" |url=https://www.24chasa.bg/bulgaria/article/20650396|access-date=2025-06-05 |website=24Chasa.bg |language=bg}}}}
Temporary Parliamentary Committees Five temporary parliamentary committees were formed during the tenure of the 51st National Assembly.
Rulebook Temporary Committee Traditionally, following the election of a speaker, a temporary committee was formed in order to review the parliament's rulebook. Hristo Gadzhev, from GERB, was elected chairman with 165 votes, including all the MPs present from the GERB-SDS, PP-DB, DPS-NN, BSP-OL and DPS-DPS groups. The amendment concerning mandatory drug and alcohol tests for MPs did not pass in the subsequent plenary session.
Water Scarcity Temporary Committee The formation of a temporary committee to investigate the reasons behind water scarcity in Bulgaria was presented by PP-DB MP,
Bogdan Bogdanov on 11 December, citing that up to 250,000 Bulgarians were living in municipalities with ongoing water rationing. The formation of the commission was approved unanimously by the present MPs. On 6 February, the committee held a hearing of the minister for the environment, Manol Genov and minister of regional development,
Ivan Ivanov on the state of water reservoirs in the country. This was followed by further hearings of representatives of the ministries of agriculture, healthcare and other relevant organisations. On 13 March, the National Assembly unanimously voted to extend the functioning of the temporary committee for a further three months. During its tenure, the committee heard from representatives of the state company, "Watering Systems" and "Watercanalproject" about the state of water reservoirs in the country. On 3 July, the committee published its final report, which contained recommendations in order to improve water supply. The report obliged the government to present an action plan to deal with water scarcity within 3 months, and endorsed a number of measures, including the formation of a unified state institution to manage water resources.
Velingrad Animal Plague Temporary Committee A temporary committee was proposed by MECh MP, Borislav Petkov, to investigate the circumstances around the alleged outbreak of plague among sheep in the area of
Velingrad. This claim was disputed during the hearings of local farmers and their lawyers, who argued the samples taken by the Agency for Food Safety were deficient, and claimed that the sheep in Velingrad did not show signs of illness. The functioning of the committee was extended by chairman Borislav Petkov, who cited the need for further investigation of alleged discrepancies in the reports of key agencies, as well as the halting of parliamentary activity due to the winter holiday, as the key factors in the decision. In its final report, presented at the committee's final session on the 23d of January, the committee recommended that the ministry of agriculture carry out a renewed inspection of the health of the animals in conjunction with EU officials; called for a discussion on the modernisation of existing EU regulations in relation to animal illness and proposed new measures to prevent the spread of disease within livestock in the future.
Highway Safety Temporary Committee A temporary committee was proposed by GERB-SDS MP, Manoil Manev, to investigate the circumstances and develop legislative solutions to the high level of road-traffic accidents in Bulgaria, with around 400 Bulgarians dying as a result of such accidents annually. The formation of the committee was supported unanimously by present MPs, with Andrey Runchev (GERB-SDS) being elected as its chairman with a three-month mandate. The temporary committee passed a number proposals aimed at reducing road-traffic accidents, such as: increasing the fine issued to drivers in the event of non-payment; reducing the maximum alcohol threshold for young and inexperienced drivers, and restricting the possibility of drivers with unpaid fines to have access to technical assistance.
Nitrous Oxide and other narcotics Temporary Committee A temporary committee was proposed by MPs from the parliamentary groups of GERB-SDS, PP-DB, BSP-OL, ITN and MECh, in response to the recent increase in the use of various narcotic substances, especially by Bulgarian youths. The committee was criticised by some MPs, specifically from within the BSP-OL parliamentary group, for being unnecessary. The committee submitted its report on 16 September, which recommended a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment for anyone in possession of nitrous oxide, with the exception of medical or agricultural needs, as well as greater resource for support of addicts.
George Soros Temporary Committee A temporary committee to investigate the activities of
George Soros,
Alexander Soros and
NGOs associated with them (such as the
Open Society Foundations) in Bulgaria was proposed by Delyan Peevski in November, 2025. It received support from the parliamentary groups of DPS-NN, Revival, BSP-UL, ITN, MECh and Velichie, thus securing a majority. The commission was opposed by PP-DB, who claimed it was meant to imitate a temporary commission proposed by them to investigate the activities of Delyan Peevski. Only one candidacy was submitted for the chairmanship of the committee: Angel Yanchev, from Revival. Yanchev's candidacy did not receive a majority, therefore meaning the committee did not have an elected chairman. The first scheduled meeting of the committee did not take place due to a lack of quorum. == Parliamentary Groups ==