Bulgaria heads to early elections after three failed cabinet-forming mandates

President Rumen Radev handed the third exploratory mandate to form a government to the parliamentary group of the “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms” (APS). On behalf of APS, Hayri Sadakov returned the government-forming mandate unfulfilled.

“I am giving you this mandate as a symbol of national unity and as a stand against any attempt by self-serving politicians to stir interethnic tension, which has no basis in Bulgaria and serves only their narrow party and, above all, personal interests”, President Radev said while presenting the mandate.

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“Our parliamentary group authorized me to return the third mandate unfulfilled, so that together we can hold fair, free, transparent and democratic elections”, said Hayri Sadakov.

President Radev responded briefly to the returned mandate, stating: “We are heading towards elections”. APS then remained for a closed-door meeting with the President.

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Bulgaria’s Head of State will next decide which constitutionally designated official will be tasked with forming a caretaker government to organize the upcoming early elections.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov