site.btaPresident Iotova to Announce Schedule for Meetings on Caretaker Cabinet on Tuesday, Meets Parliament Chair First

The schedule for consultations on appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister and caretaker government is almost ready and will be announced Tuesday, President Iliana Iotova said on Monday as she attended a ceremony for presenting the annual Sirak Skitnik awards of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

Earlier on Monday, Iotova said she has invited National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan to a meeting Tuesday, and meetings with the other persons from the pool of possible caretaker Prime Ministers will follow. 

The pool of potential caretaker prime ministers from which the President may choose is limited to the Chairperson of the National Assembly (Raya Nazaryan), the Governor or Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (Dimitar Radev, Petar Chobanov, Andrey Gurov and Radoslav Milenkov), the President or a Vice-President of the National Audit Office (Dimitar Glavchev, Margarita Nikolova and Silvia Kadreva) and the National Ombudsman (Velislava Delcheva) or a Deputy Ombudsman (Maria Filipova).

The GERB party has taken a political decision that Parliament Chair Raya Nazaryan will not take on the role of caretaker prime minister. Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev told BTA on December 23 that he would not accept the position of caretaker prime minister, as this would call into question the independence of the bank. Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva said on January 11 that the ombudsman and their deputy should be removed from the list of senior public officials eligible to become caretaker prime minister. She argued that the independence of the ombudsman from the executive must be maintained.

Bulgarian National Audit Office President Dimitar Glavchev was appointed caretaker prime minister on two separate occasions in 2024. 

The President emphasized Monday that she will follow the Constitution strictly. She expects "a thorough and responsible discussion". “Even though everyone can share their positions with the media, I want to hear the arguments for why they refuse,” she stated.

When asked whether the country is heading to elections on April 19, President Iotova said this is yet to be decided, as the schedule for this week must first be reviewed and consultations held, including with parliamentary groups. She noted that the discussions on possible nominations will also determine the nature of the subsequent meetings with the political forces.

The President stressed that under no circumstances would she allow this entire process to be a mere formality.