site.btaUPDATED Gabriel Won't Run for PM, Clears Way for Early Elections

At a news conference of GERB-UDF here on Sunday, outgoing Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel announced that in a letter to Parliament she will withdraw her prime minister candidacy and GERB-UDF will not negotiate on a second cabinet-forming mandate.

Gabriel appreciated the talks going on until the last possible day. She thanked her negotiating team of GERB for their patience and outgoing Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), with whom "no bridges were burned", leaving the option for future communication open. The Deputy PM stated that the last nine months have proved that GERB has contributed to the implementation of important reforms.

Gabriel said that GERB made concessions in the name of Bulgaria's national interest. She specified that concessions were made about the Defence and Energy Ministries, however, CC-DB made new demands concerning the Interior Ministry. "And that is why we are saying no here – no to new conditions that keep coming again and again." 

The Deputy PM regrets that early parliamentary elections are likely to take place. She hopes that they will give the country a moment of reflection. She said: "In case of elections, [...] the type of campaign will be up to us: whether it will be used to pit people against each other, whether people's fears will be used for manipulation, whether opinions will be influenced, or whether we will take the time to clearly outline what we want for the country and go into negotiation after negotiation with respect for the other and with a clear commitment to the way things should be done."

Gabriel was adamant the GERB-UDF will stay out of the negotiations on a second mandate or a potential third mandate.

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On March 5, 2024, Prime Minister Denkov resigned, honouring a commitment he made on June 6, 2023, so that GERB-UDF's Gabriel could rotate as head of government for the next nine months.

On March 6, Parliament accepted Denkov's resignation. Next, GERB-UDF and CC-DB opened negotiations on the way ahead in their joint governance. On March 17, at an extraordinary briefing, GERB demanded "a level playing field" in the government. Later in the evening, CC-DB called GERB for further talks.

On March 18, President Rumen Radev handed a cabinet-forming mandate to Gabriel as the Prime Minister-designate nominated by the largest parliamentary group, GERB-UDF.

On March 19, Gabriel returned the fulfilled mandate to President Radev, complete with a proposed cabinet lineup. In the afternoon, the head of State signed a decree proposing to the 49th National Assembly to elect as prime minister the candidate of the largest parliamentary group.

Later that day, CC-DB said that the proposed cabinet complement had not been coordinated with them and urged the President to withdraw his decree.