Third Government-Forming Mandate Goes to Alliance for Rights and Freedoms - Political Reactions from Parliament?

President Rumen Radew will tomorrow, January 16, hand over the third and final mandate to form a government to the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF). The party associated with Ahmed Dogan will have the option either to attempt to nominate a candidate for prime minister or to return the mandate unfulfilled.

The first two mandates were handed to GERB–UDF and We Continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria, both of which returned them immediately without attempting to form a government. Bulgarian National Television (BNT) will broadcast the ceremony live from the presidential institution.

After GERB–UDF and WCC–DB returned the first and second mandates respectively, attention turned to President Radev’s decision on the third mandate. Under the Constitution, it is not automatically awarded to the third-largest parliamentary group but to a party or coalition chosen by the President. It became clear today that Radev has decided to entrust the mandate to ARF.

The other eight parliamentary groups, including ARF itself, have so far declined to comment. The ninth group, MECH, did respond, with its leader Radostin Vasilev criticising the President’s decision. He said that Ahmed Dogan and those around him have carried a negative legacy since the early years of Bulgaria’s transition to democracy. He added that, in MECH’s view, ARF would not even enter the next Parliament.

Radostin Vasilev, leader of MECH, said:
“Even though it is clear that this mandate will not be realised, this move by the President shows extremely poor taste, because the people around Ahmed Dogan should be handed nothing other than indictments. This party does not even have a real party structure – its parliamentary group is made up of two parties that do not exist in reality. They have no electoral weight and most likely will not be present in the next Parliament.”

Meanwhile, GERB–UDF have submitted a bill that would effectively transfer the powers of the Anti-Corruption Commission to the National Audit Office and the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP). Earlier, MRF – New Beginning had proposed a similar bill, calling for the commission’s powers to be transferred to the National Audit Office and the State Agency for National Security (SANS). Today, WCC–DB criticised both GERB and MRF and presented their ideas for the anti-corruption commission.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, co-chair of “Yes, Bulgaria”, said:
“We see that GERB have copied Peevski’s bill to close down the Anti-Corruption Commission. What they can and should do is sign for the resignation of Anton Slavchev. Our bill envisages a very small commission dealing with conflicts of interest, asset declarations and corruption prevention.

The investigative functions should be transferred to the investigating authorities. And very importantly, the operational cases, which in GERB’s draft are simply moved to GDBOP, should first pass through a commission that determines whether there is compromising material used merely for blackmail, or whether there is evidence that can genuinely be used for criminal prosecution.”

In a separate decision, Parliament approved at two readings and almost without debate a reduction in the interest rate on student loans from 7 per cent to a maximum of 3 per cent. The proposal was put forward by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

The aim is to make it easier for young people to access financial support for their education. The bill also provides for state repayment of the loan upon the birth of a second child, a measure intended to encourage higher birth rates.