Winner of elections in Bulgaria, Radev, tasked with forming a government

Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova received a delegation from the Progressive Bulgaria (PB) party and its leader, Rumen Radev, at the Presidential Palace, following their landslide victory in the parliamentary elections held on April 19.

During the meeting, Iotova tasked PB leader and former President Radev, who secured a majority in parliament by receiving 44.6 percent of the vote in last month's early parliamentary elections, with forming a government. This marks a move toward establishing a new government in a country that has gone to the polls for general elections 8 times in the last 5 years, with the hope of ending a period defined by political crises.

During the meeting, President Iotova stated, "After years of successive political crises, the Bulgarian people expect a stable and effective administration. This expectation is also shared by our partners in Europe and the international community."

Emphasizing that very important decisions await the new government, Iotova said that restoring the Bulgarian people's trust in the political system and state institutions would depend on the new government.

"The Bulgarian people ended the political crisis in the last elections"

Pointing out in his speech that Bulgaria, which has been unable to escape a spiral of political crisis, has seen 27 attempts to form a government by different prime ministerial candidates over the last 9 years, Radev said, "Over the years, we have seen political instability, weak coalitions, and short-lived governments. However, the Bulgarian people ended the political crisis in the last elections."

Stating that voters gave a single political force a majority in parliament, Radev added, "This is a great sign of trust. But for us, for Progressive Bulgaria, it is also a great responsibility."

Radev announced the members of the new cabinet

Radev, who resigned from the Presidency in January to found Progressive Bulgaria following the resignation of the previous government last December, announced the cabinet members expected to be approved by parliament tomorrow after receiving the mandate to form a government at the Presidential Palace. The cabinet, which will be submitted to parliament for approval by Radev, includes 4 deputy prime ministers and 18 ministers.

In the cabinet proposal where Radev will assume the role of Prime Minister, the names of Galab Donev as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Aleksander Pulev as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry, and Ivo Hristov Petrov and Atanas Pekanov as Deputy Prime Ministers were included.

In the new cabinet, names such as Ivan Demerdzhiev for the Ministry of Interior, Dimitar Stoyanov for the Ministry of Defense, Velislava Petrova-Chamova for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nikolay Naydenov for the Ministry of Justice, Katya Ivkova for the Ministry of Health, and Iva Petrova for the Ministry of Energy were also proposed.

News Source: İHA