site.btaParliament Amends Law on Bulgarian National Bank

If the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has expressly agreed to be appointed caretaker prime minister, he or she shall resign. This was decided by Parliament on Friday morning with amendments to the Law on Bulgarian National Bank, and recorded in the transitional and final provisions of the state budget. MPs voted on the second reading of the draft budget for 2025.

According to the Constitution, Article 99, paragraph 5, if no agreement is reached on the formation of a government, the President, in consultation with the parliamentary groups and on the proposal of the candidate for caretaker prime minister, shall appoint a caretaker government and schedule new elections within two months. The caretaker prime minister shall be appointed from among the chair of the National Assembly, the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the president or deputy president of the National Audit Office, and the ombudsman or their deputy.

According to the text in the BNB Act adopted by Parliament with the transitional and final provisions of Budget 2025, in the event of the appointment of the governor or a deputy governor as caretaker prime minister under Article 99(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the election of a new governor or deputy governor, as the case may be, shall be held no later than one month after the termination of the powers. Until the election is held, the powers of the governor shall be exercised by a deputy appointed by him from among the deputy governors.

The BNB governor or deputy governor has the right to refuse to be appointed as caretaker prime minister, the lawmakers also decided.