site.btaA Failed Government Mandate: What’s Next

Following consultations with the parliamentary groups, on March 19 President Rumen Radev handed a mandate to Mariya Gabriel, the Prime Minister-designate of GERB-UDF which is the largest political group in the Bulgarian parliament, to try to form a government. She announced the lineup of a possible Cabinet immediately as she accepted the mandate but things took an abrupt turn as GERB’s power-sharing partner, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, said that they had not endorsed the government and would not participate in it. That led to Gabriel withdrawing from the government procedure March 25.

Here is what follows:

Under Article 99 of the Constitution, the President is expected to entrust the task of forming a Cabinet to a Prime Minister-designate nominated by the second largest parliamentary group, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria.

After accepting the mandate, they will have a week to form a government.

If they fail, the President will ask one of the minor parliamentary groups to try to form a government. The Constitution leaves it to the President to choose to which party to offer the mandate.

Also, the Constitution does not set a time limit for the third mandate.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms and the Socialists have already said that they would return unused a government mandate, should the President decide to offer it to them.

In that case, the President, following consultations with the parliamentary groups will appoint a caretaker government headed by one of the following individuals: the Parliament Chair, the central bank governor or vice governor, the National Audit Office head or their deputy, the National Ombudsman or their deputy. The main task of the caretaker government will be to organize free and fair elections, which will take place within two months.

The President’s office told the Bulgarian National Radio that President Radev will wait for Parliament to make a decision on the presidential decree concerning the first-mandate procedure. “Only after Parliament acts, can the President continue the constitutional procedure and go ahead with the handing of a second government mandate.

One constitutional law expert disagrees. According to former constitutional judge and law professor Plamen Kirov, the President doesn’t have to wait for a parliamentary resolution to officially end the first mandate, and can proceed with the handing of a second mandate to CC-DB even without holding consultations with the political parties. Also, Prof. Kirov told Trud daily that the President will first ask the Parliament Chair, Rosen Zhelyazkov (GERB-UDF) in this case, to become caretaker Prime Minister, and only if he decides will the mandate go to the next on the list.