site.btaPM Denkov: Cabinet Must Resign on March 6 at the Latest so that Government Rotation Can Take Place as Soon as Possible

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov Tuesday said that the Cabinet must resign on March 6 at the latest so that a new government headed by now Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel can take office as soon as possible. Denkov was speaking to Nova TV in Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. He added that the rotation is simply a technical matter, and it should be done in "the smoothest and fastest way possible".

When the Cabinet was formed in June 2023, CC-DB and GERB-UDF agreed that Nikolay Denkov of CC-DB and Mariya Gabriel of GERB-UDF would rotate as prime minister and deputy prime minister over a nine-month period, starting with Denkov.

Replying to a question, the Prime Minister stressed that he had never asked for Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov’s resignation. As to GERB and MRF's recent criticism of Defence Minister Todor Tagarev, Denkov said that criticism of a minister is not a reason to ask for their replacement.

Denkov noted that there have been talks with the leaders of GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms about the need for the regulators to be staffed with people whose qualifications and experience guarantee that they will not abuse their positions.

He said that no specific names were discussed, adding that a good part of the discussion was about including both NGOs and sectoral organizations, which are staffed with "people who can propose or assess the qualities of the candidates".