site.btaUPDATED CC-DB Won't Support GERB-UDF's Government-forming Mandate, Will Focus on Theirs

"We will not support the first [exploratory government-forming] mandate, we're starting work on the second mandate, which is the only alternative to having a sixth round of [snap parliamentary] elections," said Continue the Change (CC) co-leader Kiril Petkov during a meeting of the Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Parliamentary group on Tuesday. CC's national council and CC-DB's coalition council held meetings earlier in the day. 

DB co-leader Hristo Ivanov said that consultations will be held with all parliamentary forces about their readiness to support specific constitutional amendments. "We believe that the situation, which is being created in recent days, confirms our lasting stance that the Bulgarian political system, ,the institutional system, cannot normalize itself without deeper and ambitions constitutional amendments concerning the Supreme Judicial Council and the prosecuting magistracy," Ivanov said. That is why CC-DB will start discussions about whether the political foundation exists on which a constitutional majority can be formed [180 MPs from the 240-seat Parliament], based on which the second government-forming mandate can be fulfilled. "This will be our focus," Ivanov said. 

GERB-UDF, being the largest political force in Parliament, nominated EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel for prime minister in a bid to form a government, as a result of which Gabriel resigned from the European Commission. President Rumen Radev handed Gabriel the government-forming mandate on Monday, after which she has a week to either return it unfulfilled or form a cabinet. The Socialists also said they would not support GERB's mandate to form a regular government. CC-DB, being the second largest political force, will get the exploratory mandate if GERB-UDF fail to produce a cabinet. 

Under the Bulgarian Constitution, if the first two largest political forces in Parliament fail to form a government, the President hands the third mandate to a parliamentary force of his choice. If the third party is also unable to produce a regular cabinet, the President disbands the National Assembly, appoints a caretaker government and early parliamentary elections are scheduled. Bulgarians have had five parliamentary elections in the past two years.