Bulgaria's Socialists Could Secure Government for GERB and DPS, Votes Short by 7

GERB and DPS are seven votes short of forming a regular government. Tomorrow, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) will decide whether to support the first mandate at a party executive bureau meeting, OFFNews reported.

Rosen Zhelyazkov, former Speaker of the 49th National Assembly, leads GERB's draft cabinet. The proposed cabinet includes notable party figures like Tomislav Donchev, Temenuzka Petkova, Denitsa Sacheva, Daniel Mitov, Delyan Dobrev, Lyuben Dilov, and Krasen Kralev. Interim government members Kalin Stoyanov, Georgi Gvozdeikov, Atanas Zapryanov, and Evtim Miloshev are also proposed to remain.

Delyan Peevski from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) called for a Euro-Atlantic majority government and urged GERB's Boyko Borissov to start talks on forming such a government, warning against any alignment with Russia. If the first mandate fails, it will pass to DPS, which came second in the parliamentary elections.

"We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) announced they would not support the first mandate, with co-chair Kiril Petkov stating that necessary reforms are impossible under GERB-DPS leadership. "Revival" (Vazrazhdane) also declared they would not support a government formed by GERB or DPS and proposed forming a government without their involvement.

The BSP expressed readiness to propose a draft cabinet with the third mandate and support an expert government proposed by "There Is Such a People" (TISP). A decision on supporting the first mandate will be made at their Executive Bureau meeting.

TISP has consistently stated they will not support a cabinet with either the first or the second mandate. They want the third mandate to propose an expert government without their prime minister.

"Greatness" has given mixed signals regarding their support for GERB. A scandal arose between Ivelin Mihailov and the party's parliamentary group leader, Nikolay Markov, after Mihailov accused some deputies of supporting GERB. A recent message on Mihailov’s hacked social media profile appeared to support GERB, but this was quickly discredited.

GERB needs 121 votes to elect their proposed government. The distribution of seats in the 50th National Assembly is as follows: GERB - 68, DPS - 46, WCC-DB - 39, "Revival" - 38, BSP - 18, TISP - 16, "Greatness" - 13, and Independents - 2.

DPS has already indicated it will support a cabinet with the first mandate. If "Greatness" also votes for Zhelyazkov's draft cabinet, they would have 127 votes, more than enough for a majority. GERB leader Boyko Borissov stated that GERB would not accept support from separatist votes or absentees.