site.btaPresident to Hold Consultations with Parliamentary Groups on New Caretaker Government

President Rumen Radev is having consultations with the parliamentary groups on Thursday, August 8, ahead of the appointment of a new caretaker government. The President announced the consultations at a briefing on Wednesday.

The talks come after the parliamentary forces failed to reach agreement on a regular government following the snap parliamentary elections on June 9. The Bulgarian Constitution says that after the parties fail to put together a regular government, the President should hold consultations with the parliamentary groups, should appoint a caretaker government at the proposal of a caretaker Prime Minister-designate, and should schedule elections within two months.

After the Constitution was amended in December 2023, the President can choose the caretaker Prime Minister-designate from among several options: the Chair of the National Assembly, the Governor or a Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the President or a Vice President of the National Audit Office, and the Ombudsman or a Deputy Ombudsman.

The offices of the Ombudsman and his deputies are currently vacant.

The post-election process which could have led to the formation of a regular government proved unsuccessful. It started on July 1 and involved three attempts under three successive mandates granted by the President to different parliamentary groups. The last mandate was returned unfulfilled on August 5.

National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan told Radev later that day that she would not accept the job of caretaker Prime Minister because putting someone with strong political affiliations in that position would not be conducive to dialogue between the parties in the election campaign and would not raise public confidence in the political process.

The head of the present caretaker government, Dimitar Glavchev, has said he would serve another term if the President asked him to.