Bulgaria’s New Political Season Begins as President Prepares to Hand Over First Government-Forminhg Mandate

The start of the new political season is under way in Bulgaria, with President Rumen Radev expected to hand over the first mandate to seek to form a government. The head of state has already announced that the mandate will be handed over in January.

Under the Constitution, the first mandate to form a new government must be given to the largest political force in the 51st National Assembly – GERB–UDF. The party will have seven days to fulfil the mandate. If it fails, the second-largest parliamentary group, We Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria, will be next in line and will also have exactly one week to propose a new government.

If this attempt is unsuccessful as well, the President may award the mandate to a parliamentary group of his choosing. For this third mandate, the Constitution does not explicitly set a deadline for completion.

Should all attempts to form a new regular government fail, the President is required to appoint a caretaker government, with a prime minister selected from a predefined group of eligible individuals – the so-called “house book”. He must also call new parliamentary elections.

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The list of officials eligible for the Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister role (informally known as the "house book") includes the holders of the following high state positions:

• The Speaker of the National Assembly (currently Raya Nazarayn)
• The Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) (Dimitar Radev) or his deputies (Andrey Gyurov, Petar Chobanov, Radoslav Milenkov)
• The Ombudsman (Velislava Delcheva) or her deputy (Mariya Filipova)
• The Chairman of the Audit Office (Dimitar Glavchev) or his deputies (Margarita Nikolova, Silvia Kadreva)