President Ready to Schedule Elections for April 19 if Provided with Cabinet Lineup within Required Time Frame

Dimitrina Solakova, Konstantin Kostov

President Iliana Iotova giving a news conference, Sofia, February 12, 2026 (BTA Photo/Vladimir Shokov)

Sofia,

12.02.2026 13:02

(BTA)

President Iliana Iotova Thursday told a news conference that if presented with a caretaker cabinet lineup within the required time frame, she will issue the necessary decrees to set April 19 as the day for the snap parliamentary elections. Earlier on Thursday, she tasked caretaker prime minister-designate Andrey Gurov with proposing a government lineup within a week.

The President noted that among the tasks of the caretaker government, outlined during her consultations with parliamentary groups, are immediate measures to control prices, stabilizing the State's finances in euro when the state budget is in leva, regulating electricity prices, solving the Petrohan case, fulfilling commitments to partners in foreign policy, and protecting Bulgaria's interests as a member of the EU and internationally.

Regarding the cabinet lineup, Iotova said that she understood Gurov's words about accepting to be prime minister "without hidden conditions," such as proposing a cabinet composition without political pressure, taking responsibility as prime minister, but also for his ministers, as well as being accountable to the National Assembly.

When asked by BTA whether she would demand the resignation of a caretaker minister, Iotova replied that she would not be responsible for this cabinet, but would be its corrective force in two directions.

"If I see that the activities of this cabinet, despite the constantly functioning National Assembly, are not working in the interests of Bulgarian citizens, I will voice my concerns and criticisms loudly and first to journalists. Secondly, I will open the door of the presidential institution to all reports of irregularities during the election process, on election day, and in relation to the activities of the executive branch, and I will publicize every single report," said the President.

/DD/