The 52nd National Assembly opens: Members of Parliament gather for their first session

The first formal session of the 52nd National Assembly. The gavel will fall at exactly 10 a.m., and the political parties will outline their priorities and the urgent tasks they will tackle. President Iliyana Yotova will address the newly elected members of parliament.

A total of five political formations are entering parliament. The largest is “Progressive Bulgaria” with 131 seats, followed by GERB-SDS with 39 members of parliament. Yesterday, following a meeting of party leaders, it became clear that “We Continue the Change” and “Democratic Bulgaria” will register as separate political groups. Thus, "Continue the Change" has 16 MPs, and "Democratic Bulgaria" has 21. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) holds 21 seats, and the smallest group will be "Vazrazhdane" with 12 MPs.

The first session is traditionally opened by the oldest member of parliament—currently Rumen Milanov from "Progressive Bulgaria". Today the members of parliament will need to elect a permanent speaker so that the parliament can begin its' work. One of the main tasks in the coming weeks will be the adoption of a regular budget.