Photo: Municipality of Sevlievo
It took the Municipal Council in Sevlievo exactly 36 minutes to review, discuss, and approve 20 items during its regular meeting on October 28 this year. At the end of this quick and efficient meeting, the councilors took a little more time to elect their fourth vice-chair.
On average, less than two minutes were devoted to each item. To say that there was a “discussion” would be an exaggeration. It would be more accurate to note that the well-rehearsed scenario that has been played out for years in the Sevlievo local parliament was played out twenty times.
The performance is short – the chair announces that the others “unanimously support”
The meetings of the Sevlievo Municipal Council have steadily become meaningless and unproductive. The latest is an eloquent example. Exactly 20 times, Chairman Yavor Pamukchiev repeated the same lines, without any response from the hall.
The scenario is simple: the chair announces the item, followed by a brief formal statement by the chair of the relevant committee, always ending with the phrase “the committee supports the proposal.” Sometimes “unanimously” is added to suggest that if five people on the committee think so, the other 24 have no reason to have a different opinion.
After a short pause, the chairperson utters the usual phrase: “I declare the debate closed.” Of course, there has been no debate. The routine vote follows, another minute and a half, the item is adopted, and we move on to the next one.
Debate is unnecessary, questions are unwelcome
Opposition councilors have long since resigned themselves to this. They say that with this way of working, debate is completely meaningless. Any attempt to ask a question or make a comment in the chamber only irritates the chair, who responds with sarcastic remarks, and in the end, the ruling party’s proposal is voted on anyway.
More vice-presidents for more loyalty
Proof of this way of thinking is the election of the fourth vice-president of the Municipal Council in Sevlievo.
He was elected by secret ballot after a proposal was submitted by the chairman, Yavor Pamukchiev. Mihail Yonkov (PP-DB) and Svetla Georgieva (Citizens for the Municipality) insisted on hearing the reasons and arguments for the need for a fourth deputy chairperson. “How will this choice improve the work of the Municipal Council and how will it contribute to our effectiveness?” asked Yonkov. “I am very familiar with the rules of the Municipal Council, and this proposal lacks motives and justification,” Georgieva emphasized, stating that “the proposal must be substantiated” and declaring that she would vote against it.
A simple calculation shows how absurd the situation is – the 29-member Municipal Council already has a chairperson and three deputies. With the election of a fourth, every sixth councilor in Sevlievo is part of the leadership.
No explanations, straight to the vote
Despite the insistence, Chairman Pamukchiev silently ignored his colleagues’ questions and proceeded directly to a secret ballot. Thus, without discussion, the new deputy chairman was elected – Stanimir Stoychev, until recently the leader of the BSP in Sevlievo.
Before the last parliamentary elections, Stoychev left the party but retained his seat in the BSP group in the local parliament. Instead of leaving it, as logic would dictate, he now holds a leading position in the Municipal Council – at the suggestion of GERB.
