Bulgaria government faces no-confidence vote

Bulgaria's largest opposition party on Wednesday filed a no-confidence motion against the government, which could see it overthrown, descending the country into political chaos.

The move could lead to another election in the poor EU Balkan state, which would be the fourth since last year.

The motion was tabled by the conservative GERB party of former premier Boyko Borisov and could become the first successful no-confidence motion in Bulgaria's democratic history.

The motion, to be debated and put to vote in parliament next week, targets Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's cabinet, formed in December after difficult negotiations on an anti-graft platform.

His troubles came to a head last week when one of the four parties in his coalition withdrew.

GERB's 59 lawmakers will seek to get backing for the motion from three other opposition parties -- the Turkish minority MRF party, the ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane and the anti-establishment ITN party.

The motion targets "the government's failure in the sphere of public finances and economic policy", GERB said in a statement.

In order to succeed, it needs backing from 121 lawmakers in the 240-seat legislature.

The government coalition can now rely on the support of only 114 lawmakers and Petkov has appealed to other "brave and responsible people" in parliament to help overthrow the motion and avoid new political turmoil.

"If we enter a spiral of elections, it would be a disaster and a waste of historical time," Petkov told journalists Tuesday.

Even before the motion, weakened support for the governing coalition prompted most observers to see new elections as unavoidable.

Petkov's cabinet is now racing to pass through parliament a 2022 budget revision that includes vital anti-crisis measures, such as pension rises and tax changes to lower the effect of soaring energy prices.

Over 5,000 Bulgarians have so far joined a call on social media to attend a peaceful street march in support of the government next Wednesday.