site.btaUPDATED CC-DB to Return Cabinet-forming Mandate Unfulfilled upon Receipt

At a BTA-hosted news conference here on Saturday, Yes, Bulgaria Co-chair Ivaylo Mirchev said that when the President hands them the cabinet-forming mandate, they will return it unfulfilled immediately.

Yes, Bulgaria is part of the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) parliamentary group, which as the second biggest in the National Assembly is to receive the second mandate from President Rumen Radev. Under the Constitution, after the government's resignation, the President must hand out a cabinet-forming mandate to the largest group first. GERB-UDF have already said they would decline the mandate upon receipt on January 12. If the third mandate - to a parliamentary group of the President’s choosing - fails as well, the head of State is obliged to appoint a caretaker cabinet and schedule early parliamentary elections within two months.  

Yes, Bulgaria Co-Chair Bozhidar Bozhanov Saturday said that the end of March and the beginning of April is a suitable time to hold elections, which have always been convenient months for people. "Earlier is not convenient, and there is not enough time to organize," he added. 

Mirchev announced that Yes, Bulgaria will run in the elections together with its Democratic Bulgaria coalition partners from Democrats for Strong Bulgaria and with Continue the Change. This coalition's goal will be to achieve maximum election results without forming coalitions with GERB and MRF.

According to Mirchev, the national goal remains the introduction of voting entirely by machines. "One hundred thousand people were in the square, which means that public support for machine voting is significant. This is the most important thing that needs to happen," Mirchev emphasized. He added that everywhere he goes, citizens ask him only about machine voting and how fraud will be prevented. "It will be voted on in Parliament, and we hope to find support, and as for fraud, we hope that everyone will sign up for the You Count initiative," he added. 

On vote buying, Bozhanov said that his party has asked Borislav Sarafov to comply with the law and resign from his position as acting Prosecutor General. "Vote buying is done with the prosecutor's protection. It cannot be done any other way. As long as the Prosecutor General is a man of [MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski, he will continue to buy votes with impunity, which is why we have submitted a draft declaration in which the National Assembly states clearly that the law must be obeyed," Bozhanov said.

On the caretaker prime minister, Bozhanov said that they will be appointed by the President, and Yes, Bulgaria will participate in consultations to discuss all options. However, the final decision will be made by Rumen Radev in consultation with all institutions, Bozhanov underscored.

The pool of potential caretaker prime ministers from which the President may choose is limited by the Constitution 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.