A day before being due to be handed a mandate by President Roumen Radev to seek to get a government elected, Rossen Zhelyazkov of Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF coalition said that proceeding to nominate one would depend on whether the coalition receives support from the Ahmed Dogan loyalists of the Democracy, Rights and Freedoms parliamentary group.
According to BTA.bg, on January 15 at 12 noon, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will hand GERB-UDF, the largest parliamentary group in the 51st National Assembly, a mandate to form a cabinet, the head of State’s Press Secretariat reported on Monday.
Under the Constitution, the President first mandates the largest parliamentary group to form a government. If it fails, he mandates the second largest. Should this also fail, a third exploratory mandate is given to a parliamentary group of the President’s choice. If no government is formed under the third mandate, snap parliamentary elections are held.
Since the latest early parliamentary elections on October 27, 2024, the country has been governed by a caretaker cabinet led by Dimitar Glavchev.
GERB-UDF, which won the most votes and secured the largest number of legislative seats, has been negotiating with three other parliamentary entities: Democratic Bulgaria (DB), BSP-United Left, and There Is Such a People (TISP).
Negotiations with DB were discontinued a week ago, and talks continued with BSP-United Left and TISP. However, the three groups together still lack the 121-majority required to vote a cabinet into office. President Radev stated that he would give the negotiators a few more days before issuing the first exploratory mandate.
BSP-United Left has agreed to sign a governance agreement. Meanwhile, Democracy, Rights, and Freedom (DRF) announced in a press release that they had met with GERB-UDF, BSP-United Left, and TISP to evaluate the possibility of forming a parliamentary majority capable of creating a cabinet.
Ninova: Only interests and greed for power and money bring together the three parties
Only interests and greed for power and money bring together the three parties that are negotiating for a government – GERB, BSP-OL and ITN. This was stated by the former leader of the BSP, now the leader of the new movement “Unrepentant Bulgaria”, Cornelia Ninova in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio.
According to her, the time that President Rumen Radev has given before handing over the mandate is too long.
“And it depends on the result that will be achieved. There is another thought in this delay. Perhaps the president was waiting for the decision of the Constitutional Court, whether the caretaker cabinet will return to his powers or will remain in the “home book”. Because, if we go to elections, this is important for him”, Ninova commented on the handing over of the mandate tomorrow, January 15.
She recalled the promises made by each of the three parties before the elections and that they have not been fulfilled, because now they are negotiating to form a joint cabinet.
The new cabinet is already completed
Prime Minister-designate Rosen Zhelyazkov has confirmed that the names for a potential cabinet, composed of GERB, There Is Such a People (TISP), and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), have already been finalized. However, he emphasized that the final decision to present a draft cabinet to President Rumen Radev depends on securing the support of deputies aligned with Ahmed Dogan.
Zhelyazkov made the statement ahead of a crucial meeting of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, where lawmakers are debating amendments to the Judiciary Act. These amendments relate to the upcoming election of a new Prosecutor General, scheduled for January 16. While noting that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” Zhelyazkov clarified that although the cabinet members have been confirmed, securing the necessary parliamentary support for a stable majority remains critical. He stressed that no ministers from the DPS-Dogan faction have been included in the current draft cabinet, but their support is vital for ensuring government stability.
The coalition agreement between GERB, BSP, and TISP is in place but hinges on obtaining sufficient parliamentary backing. Zhelyazkov added that if a majority is secured, a list of cabinet members would be submitted to the President. Representatives from BSP and TISP, not directly involved in the negotiations, declined to comment on specifics, while the DPS-Dogan group has not clarified whether it will set conditions for its support.
Meanwhile, the “Revival” party reiterated that it would not support this government and would back only one formed under its own mandate. Additionally, MECH expressed opposition to the proposed cabinet, and the DPS-Peevski group restated its leader’s stance against the coalition.
The proposed government structure includes 11 ministers from GERB, 4 from BSP, and 4 from TISP, along with three deputy prime ministers, one representing each coalition party.
When asked about the possibility of a minority cabinet, Zhelyazkov said that this option had not yet been explored. He reiterated that ongoing negotiations with the DPS-Dogan faction remain pivotal to forming a stable government, but no final decisions have been made. Other political groups, including “Democratic Bulgaria,” have distanced themselves from the talks, while Revival and DPS-Peevski have firmly rejected the current coalition arrangement. The fate of Zhelyazkov’s government depends on the outcome of these critical discussions.