President Yotova: New Bulgarian government to be sworn in on May 8
Bulgarian President Iliyana Yotova said on May 5 that she will hand over the first mandate to seek to form a government on May 7 at 5pm – to Parliament’s largest group, Roumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria – and the plan is for the new government to take the oath in the National Assembly on May 8.
Yotova was speaking after holding consultations, as mandated by the constitution, with all six parliamentary groups, following the outcome of Bulgaria’s April 19 early parliamentary elections and the first sitting of the 52nd National Assembly.
Her first meeting of the day was with a Progressive Bulgaria delegation, which was headed by parliamentary leader Petar Vitanov and which did not include Radev. The Radev camp has said that it intends accepting the first mandate and immediately presenting a proposed government, to be headed by Radev as prime minister.
In comments in the course of meeting the parliamentary groups, Yotova said: “Our ambition is to have a new government by the end of this week”.
Yotova emphasized the results of the parliamentary elections and the changed political configuration in the National Assembly.
“For the first time in more than 20 years, Bulgaria will have an absolute majority in Parliament, which brings both its advantages and its difficulties,” she said.
Yotova raised the question of the attitude of the political force to the procedure for adopting the country’s Budget for 2026 and what their red lines will be when discussing the financial framework.
“The caretaker government was faced with a very difficult task – to work twice with an extended budget from 2025. Even the very good intentions they had could not be achieved, because the law did not allow them,” she said.
She congratulated the caretaker finance minister for the efforts made in extremely difficult conditions. “In a very difficult period, with a very meagre budget, with which you do not have the powers, and no legal ways to operate with these funds, we were literally walking on the edge and the word ‘bankruptcy’ was on the table every day,” Yotova said.
However, the rights and incomes of the most vulnerable in connection with galloping prices could have been better protected, she said.
“I really hope that the next government will offer the best in this situation in terms of prices and incomes.”
The elections are over and this is where the hard part begins – all institutions must meet the high expectations of Bulgarian citizens, she said.
“Bulgaria must stop being a country of expired mandates and temporary positions,” Yotova said.
(Photo: president.bg)
