site.btaPresident to Hand Government-forming Mandate to Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria "In the Coming Days"

President Rumen Radev said Monday that a government-forming mandate will be handed over to the second-largest parliamentary group Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) "in the coming days". Earlier in the day Radev handed over the first exploratory mandate to form a cabinet to GERB-UDF but outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov returned it immediately after receiving it on behalf of the coalition. 

"I hope we can maintain a good pace so as not to delay the election process," added the head of State.

On January 10, CC-DB MP Ivaylo Mirchev said that when the President hands them the mandate, they will return it unfulfilled immediately.

Under the Bulgarian Constitution, when a government resigns, it continues to perform its functions until a new Council of Ministers is elected.

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 selected by the President. Should all three mandates be unsuccessful, the head of State must 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.