Former Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov of the PP-DB has confirmed that the coalition will not support a cabinet with first and second mandates, and is against the idea of an ITN for a government led by technocrats with a third mandate. 

"Technocracy, where there is no clear political responsibility, is a wonderful fig leaf behind which many outrageous things can be done," Denkov said. According to him, the news that the parliament now has a speaker is clouded by the question of who is in charge. 

"This Speaker is the most ardent defender of those sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act. Raya Nazaryan (the new Speaker) recently made the following statement: 'The US is being misled, and for GERB the Magnitsky sanctions have no value'. Apparently, in this case, this is how one can become President of the National Assembly," Denkov said. 

Yesterday, after parliament failed to elect a speaker in two votes, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) co-leader Delyan Peevski called for a vote for Raya Nazaryan, saying that "it is most appropriate that the President of Parliament should be the one proposed by the first political force".

Peevski and former GERB finance minister Vladislav Goranov are among those sanctioned under Magnitsky in Bulgaria.