Bulgarian Parl Accepts Deputy PM Simeonov's Resignation
Bulgaria's parliament accepted on Wednesday the resignation of deputy prime minister Valeri Simeonov and endorsed the proposal to replace him by Mariyana Nikolova, Simeonov's chief of staff. The decision proposed by deputy prime minister Krasimir Karakachanov was adopted in a 116-62 vote with no abstentions, the parliament said in a statement. Simeonov submitted his resignation on Friday, saying an ongoing public campaign against him jeopardised the stability of the coalition government. He is leader of NFSB, one of three parties forming the nationalist alliance United Patriots, the junior partner of GERB party in the coalition government led by Boyko Borissov. In his capacity of deputy prime minister Simenov was in charge of economic and demographic policy. For nearly a month the parents of children with disabilities have been protesting daily in front of the government building in Sofia with demands that Simeonov step down after he described them as "screaming women with supposedly sick children".