President Iotova Will Hand the First Mandate to Form a Government on May 7

President Iliiana Iotova made a statement following the political consultations held with representatives of the parliamentary groups in the 52nd National Assembly on May 5.

The Head of State announced that she will hand over the first exploratory mandate to form a government on 7 May at 17:00.

Iliiana Iotova, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: “I would like to thank all parliamentary parties represented in Parliament, the leaders of the parliamentary groups, and the representatives of the political party ‘Vazrazhdane’ for coming today and taking part in the consultations. They all came not merely to fulfil a formal obligation — the consultations were genuinely substantive, and I can say with confidence that everyone arrived with already prepared legislative programmes. We therefore hope that the National Assembly will begin work at a fast pace as early as next week.”

“The most important priorities are shared. There was a common position that work should begin with a budget for only half a year — a budget that should break the inflationary spiral and help the most vulnerable and socially disadvantaged.

At the same time, everyone expressed their desire and assurance that this would not be achieved through tax increases and that all social payments would be honoured as they have been so far.”

“The second priority is undoubtedly reform of the judicial system. I would like to note that the approaches here vary widely and the proposals from the parliamentary groups differ significantly. However, there is a shared view that the most important first step will be taken, namely the replacement of the Supreme Judicial Council and the election of new members under very clear, transparent and unequivocal criteria.”

“Regarding the budget, there is also another important indicator on which everyone was united. We must do the impossible to ensure that Bulgaria receives payments under the Recovery Plan, because this will also be the greatest guarantee that the budget functions properly and is secured.

I hope that today’s expectations and viewpoints will form the basis of a constructive debate in the National Assembly going forward, and that we will see a normalisation of political dialogue both within Parliament and between the different institutions.”

photos by BTA