President to 'BSP–United Left': A Stable Majority in Next Parliament Should Revisit the Constitutional Changes

Consultations at the Presidency between President Iliyana Iotova and parliamentary parties over the appointment of a caretaker prime minister continue. A meeting between the head of state and representatives of ' Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) – United Left' took place on February 4 and was attended by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Dragomir Stoynev, along with the deputy chairs of the 'BSP – United Left' parliamentary group, Kiril Dobrev and Maya Dimitrova.

At the start of the consultations, President Iotova said that responsibility for the caretaker cabinet rests entirely with the National Assembly, speaking within the framework of the procedure for appointing a caretaker prime minister.

“I believe our goal is a shared one. It was demanded by hundreds of thousands of citizens during the protests — not only in terms of the fair functioning of institutions and the fight against corruption, but with a primary condition: the holding of fair and transparent elections, so that we can restore public trust in the electoral process and, from there, trust in the institutions.

“That is why these talks are extremely important, and I would even say very substantive. We need urgent action to stop the price shock and to identify the most immediate and realistic measures to support the most vulnerable people,” President Iliyana Iotova said at the start of the consultations.

President Iliyana Iotova praised 'BSP – United Left' for voting against the constitutional amendments which, she said, had stripped the President of the ability to nominate and appoint a caretaker government.

“My hope is that a stable majority in the next parliament will reconsider the constitutional changes that deprived the head of state of the right to independently choose a caretaker prime minister,” Iotova said.

Dragomir Stoynev of BSP – United Left said that “the entire country understands the difficult and absurd situation in which you have been placed”. He added that the very political forces that amended the Constitution are now expressing regret over their actions.

Stoynev noted that, under the current framework, the President no longer has a free choice when it comes to appointing a caretaker prime minister.

photos by Dessislava Kulelieva, BNT

Iliyana Iotova reiterated that she is doing everything possible to ensure the elections are held on the first available date after Easter.