site.btaUPDATED President Rumen Radev to Hand Government-Forming Mandate “as Soon as Possible”

President Rumen Radev said on Tuesday that he intends to hand a government-forming mandate “as soon as possible,” but did not commit to an exact date. “I intend to hand the mandate to the largest parliamentary group as soon as possible, since the parties during the consultations clearly stated that they see no further life in the 51st National Assembly and committed to legislative changes to increase public trust,” the President told journalists here on Tuesday at a ceremony during which the Bulgarian Armed Forces' field flags, services' colours, and standards that were carried in crucial battles of the past, were sprinkled with blessed water in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in downtown Sofia on Epiphany, January 6.

The Government of Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned on December 11, 2025, under pressure from large-scale protests.

Radev also emphasized the need for 100% machine voting with electronic vote counting, while mandating that receipts be fully tallied. Asked whether he would hand over the exploratory mandate this week, he said he would announce it as soon as possible. 

Asked whether he expects the upcoming elections to create a new regular government or whether the country will enter another cycle of elections, President Radev said that only Bulgarian citizens at the ballot boxes can answer that question. “This time, I call for mass participation in the elections, so that corporate, bought, and coerced votes can truly be minimized,” he added.

When asked whether he and Vice President Iliana Iotova will present a report on their term in office and whether they have managed to unite the public, the President said that their report is delivered daily through their actions benefitting citizens. “Despite all the criticism since the beginning of our mandate, specifically directed at me, claiming that I divide the Bulgarian nation, the decisive victory in the second presidential elections in which we participated clearly showed that, despite all these accusations, people have a different opinion,” he said.

“The most important thing is to unite Bulgarians around their most important interests. Mrs. Iotova and I were not elected to unite political parties, but to unite Bulgarian citizens against any attempt to violate their rights,” Radev added.

Asked whether they could unite voters around a parliamentary election with his party, he noted, “That party apparently already exists, since our opponents keep referring to it.” He stressed that a more urgent question is where the old parties have gone, which left the country without a budget. 

President Rumen Radev has distanced himself from the newly formed Treti Mart Movement and similar groups, stating that they have no connection to him or the presidency. While the movement claims to support his policies and considers him an informal leader, Radev emphasized that only a party he personally announces can be considered his, and he has not created any such party.

Explainer

Under the Constitution, the first exploratory mandate is handed to the largest parliamentary force, GERB-UDF. 

When a government resigns in Bulgaria it does not stop functioning immediately. The Prime Minister submits the resignation of the Council of Ministers to the National Assembly, which adopts a formal resolution accepting it. However, the outgoing cabinet continues to perform its functions until a new regular cabinet is elected or a caretaker one appointed.

The Constitution does not set a time limit after the government's resignation within which the President of the Republic must begin consultations with the parliamentary groups and hand out cabinet forming mandates to their prime ministers-designate, starting with the largest group. If the first two attempts fail, a third mandate goes to a parliamentary group of the President’s choosing. Should all three mandates be unsuccessful, the head of State is obliged to appoint a caretaker cabinet and schedule early parliamentary elections within two months. The National Assembly continues to function until a new legislature is elected and sworn in.

The pool of potential caretaker prime ministers from which the President may choose is limited to the Chairperson of the National Assembly, the Governor or Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the President or a Vice-President of the National Audit Office, and the National Ombudsman or a Deputy Ombudsman.