Bulgarian President makes unprecedented decision to postpone parliamentary elections, withdraws nomination for interim Prime Minister

Bulgaria's parliamentary elections scheduled for October 20 have been postponed after President Rumen Radev failed to sign a decree approving the formation of an interim government.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. (Source: AFP)

Euro News reported that Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva - the Prime Minister candidate nominated by President Radev himself - proposed a list of interim government headed by her. However, on August 19, Mr. Radev rejected this list and withdrew the nomination of Ms. Kozhareva.

“ There will be no swearing-in ceremony in parliament tomorrow, the election will be postponed until after October 20 and the current interim cabinet will continue to perform its duties until a new interim government is formed,” Mr. Radev wrote on his personal Facebook page.

The Bulgarian President said that the list proposed by Ms. Kozhareva does not guarantee political stability and fair elections. He especially opposed keeping Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov in office.

President Radev's move means that Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev's caretaker government will remain in power until the Bulgarian parliament comes up with a new shortlist of potential prime minister candidates.

Since the June 9 extraordinary parliamentary elections, the sixth in three years, the Bulgarian legislature has been unable to form a stable government.

Mr. Glavchev - former Chairman of the Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) - was chosen as interim Prime Minister due to meeting the conditions in the amended Constitution adopted in December 2023.

The constitution stipulates that the interim prime minister must be chosen from the positions of president of parliament, governor or deputy governor of the National Bank of Bulgaria, president or deputy president of the BNAO, or ombudsman or deputy ombudsman.

However, President Radev assessed that tensions had escalated over suspicions that Mr. Glavchev's government was abusing its political power. On August 9, Mr. Radev appointed Ms. Kozhareva as interim Prime Minister, and assigned her the task of proposing a new interim government by August 19 at the latest.

According to Euro News , President Radev's decision is unprecedented. A constitutional expert said: "This crisis is not about the constitution, but a political crisis. It arises from the fact that the parliament cannot provide a complete list (of candidates) that the president should choose, as stipulated in the constitutional text."

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-thong-bulgaria-ra-quyet-dinh-chua-tung-co-hoan-bao-cu-quoc-hoi-gach-de-cu-cho-chuc-thu-tuong-lam-thoi-283284.html