site.btaUPDATED Accepting Post of Caretaker PM Would Constitute Violation of Bulgarian and European Legislation - Central Bank Governor Radev

"If I accept to become a caretaker prime minister, it would constitute a violation of the Bulgarian and European legislation, as well as the established ethical norms," Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev told journalists here after his meeting with President Iliana Iotova on Wednesday. 

President Iliana Iotova conferred with Radev as part of the constitutional procedure for appointing a caretaker government. 

“The sanction for such a violation would be immediate resignation. Such a development carries the risk of destabilizing, perhaps, currently the most stable public institution - the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), as well as depriving the country of full representation and voting rights on the Governing Council of the European Central Bank at the very start of our membership in the eurozone,” commented the BNB Governor. According to him, this would send a very negative signal to both markets and international partners.

Radev explained that the tone and content of his meeting with the President were very constructive, and he had the opportunity to present his position, which is already well known. “My position is motivated both from the perspective of institutional logic and from the standpoint of institutional responsibility,” added Radev.

When asked whether this position also applies to the BNB deputy governors, Radev replied: “You will have the opportunity to ask them directly. We have not discussed this issue within the central bank".

Later in the day, President Iliana Iotova is scheduled to meet with the BNB Deputy Governors Radoslav Milenkov, Petar Chobanov, and Andrey Gurov.

At present, Andrey Gurov remains a Deputy Governor of the BNB, although he has not been performing his duties for approximately a year and a half due to the case currently pending in court, Radev explained. 

On a separate question from BTA about whether he would accept a nomination as a candidate for President in this year’s elections, Radev replied that "this is not on the agenda.” 

On Thursday, the President will receive Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva and Deputy Ombudsman Maria Filipova. On Friday, Iotova will meet with Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) President Dimitar Glavchev and BNAO Vice Presidents Margarita Nikolova and Silvia Kadreva.

Under Article 99, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, after failure to reach agreement on forming a government, the President, following consultations with the parliamentary groups and on the proposal of the candidate for caretaker prime minister, appoints a caretaker government and schedules new parliamentary elections within two months.

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 the Deputy Ombudsman (Maria Filipova).

In late 2025, then-President Rumen Radev held consultations with parliamentary groups following the resignation of the Rosen Zhelyazkov Cabinet. On January 16, Radev said Bulgaria was heading toward snap parliamentary elections after the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms received and returned the third mandate to form a government. Earlier, the first two exploratory mandates - handed to GERB-UDF and Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria - had also been returned.