PM designate Assen Vassilev returned the mandate to form a government unfulfilled

Exactly at 17.00 on July 8, President Rumen Radev received the candidate for Prime Minister, nominated by the largest parliamentary group in the 47th National Assembly, Assen Vassilev, to whom, in accordance with the constitutional procedure, he handed the first exploratory mandate for forming a government within the current Parliament.

As stated an hour earlier, Assen Vassilev returned the mandate to the President unfulfilled.

He stated that they had failed to gather enough parliamentary support.

The withdrawn confidence in the cabinet cannot and should not exhaust public efforts to build a government that is transparent and accountable to the people. I believe that the mission to change our country is history and, no matter how difficult it may be, the Bulgarians will achieve it, the President said.

Next week I will announce when I will hand over the mandate to the second largest parliamentary group and I expect this time to be put to a useful purpose by the government and the Parliament, Rumen Radev said.

Image by Dessislava Kulelieva

Earlier today, outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov gave a statement saying that the mandate will be returned unfulfilled.

We are entering a political crisis, our partners are waiting to see what will happen. This crisis costs Bulgarian citizens a lot, Petkov said and added: The mandate will be returned."

According to the Constitution, the second mandate will be given to the second largest parliamentary group, GERB-UDF coalition. However, they have already declared that they will not attempt to form a government and will return it.

If the second parliamentary group fails to present a cabinet, the President assigns a mandate to a third parliamentary group, at his choice.

So far, the BSP for Bulgaria and “Democratic Bulgaria” have declared their readiness to try to form a new cabinet.