site.btaDimitar Glavchev Has Until Aug. 26 to Propose Caretaker Cabinet; If Successful, Elections Will Be on Oct. 27

President Rumen Radev Thursday handed a government-forming mandate to Dimitar Glavchev, the current head of the caretaker Cabinet. The President told Glavchev that the topmost priority of the new cabinet should be combatting vote buying. Glavchev has until Monday, August 26, to propose a cabinet composition and lineup. If the mandate is successfully fulfilled, Bulgaria will have elections on October 27, said also the President. 

Glavchev, who is the incumbent caretaker Prime Minister, was among six senior office holders among whom Radev had to pick a potential caretaker PM appointees. He was the only one who publicly declared his readiness to accept this position. At consultations that the President held on Wednesday in line with the constitutional procedure, it emerged that Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Dimitar Radev, Deputy Governor Radoslav Milenkov and Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) Vice President Toshko Todorov declined the offer. National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan spoke to Radev by telephone and it was not clear what they said but she had said previously that she would not head a caretaker cabinet. No information was available about the reply of the third BNB Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov, who also had a phone talk with Radev. The other BNAO Vice President, Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, was already designated to form a cabinet but her proposal was rejected by the President on Monday after she refused to replace Kalin Stoyanov as her interior minister nominee.

What the President said

 "I urge your government to make its top priority countering vote buying and controlled voting. By accepting this mandate, you accept a responsible mission to mobilize the full forces of the State to combat this ugly phenomenon. This is a sine qua non for the success of this mandate. I hope I have been clear," the President said as he handed the government mandate to Glavchev.

He went on to urge Dimitar Glavchev to do a thorough analysis of "all glitches you have experienced before coming to this point, and making sure they don't happen again". 

"During your first term as caretaker prime minister, along with the results achieved, there were suspicions about dependencies of certain political figures in the government you led. You denied those but today you have a real opportunity to deny them by proving otherwise. For this to happen, you should first propose carefully considered changes in the composition of the government and then follow it up with resolute action." He added that because of the constitutional role of caretaker cabinets, these actions are primarily related to the preparation and conduct of elections.

"I hand you a mandate to form a new caretaker government. This responsibility has returned to you again after the failed attempt of Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, after the refusal of the other possible candidates and because of the restrictions for the leadership of the Bulgarian National Bank to take the premiership. And I believe that it is not right for the crisis in one institution to be extinguished by starting a fire in another one - an extremely important institution for the financial and economic stability of our country at a difficult time," President Radev added. 

What Glavchev said

Accepting the mandate, the caretaker Prime Minister-designate said his key task will be "to lower political tension". "I will make sure we do a better job in all respects," he told President Rumen Radev.

He also said, "One can always do better. I have nothing to be ashamed of for the work of the government of which I am still caretaker prime minister. No one has disputed that we have done our main task well - to organize fair, free and transparent elections. At the same time, we have kept to Bulgaria's European path, which has been set for years. A path that was started many governments ago. I promised exactly that - to organize the elections properly, to preserve the European path and to solve the problems of the Bulgarian citizens. This is the most important thing for any government, whether caretaker or regular." 

Glavchev added that he is "a big proponent of regular [Parliament-appointed] governments". "A regular government is backed by a majority in Parliament. A caretaker cabinet does not enjoy such support. There will always be speculations about political dependencies and they are mostly part of election campaigning. Unfortunately, it was all an election campaign [during the first Glavchev caretaker cabinet]; I did not see any other kind of work in Parliament but it is not my job to criticize the MPs," he said.

The caretaker Prime Minister-designate went on to speak about the need for state institutions to work together for improving the lives of Bulgarians. "You and me proved that we can do that. I said last time that it had been a hard choice for both of us. Now it is clear that it can be even harder."

Glavchev said that he is watching carefully what is happening in society and what the public attitudes are.

He is optimistic that the government he will propose on August 26 will meet people's expectations.

On his way out of the President's Office Glavchev was asked if he would change any ministers in the cabinet he now heads, to which he said that it would become clear on August 26. 

He would not say if he would change Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov. It was over the presence of Stoyanov as Interior Minister that President Radev refused to decree the appointment of a caretaker cabinet proposed by Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva. 

"I am watching what is happening in society. I will take action to calm down the political climate," he said. 

Sixth snap elections

The likely October 27 elections will be this country's sixth after the regular parliamentary elections on April 4, 2021.

The latest snap parliamentary elections were on June 9, 2024.