Bulgaria's President To Continue Government Consultations as Major Parties Reject Possibility of New Cabinet

President Rumen Radev held consultations with parliamentary forces GERB and "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) as part of the constitutional procedure to form a second regular government within the 51st National Assembly. The meetings took place at the presidency on Dondukov 2 street following the resignation of the cabinet at the end of last week.

Further reading: Official: Zhelyazkov Government Submits Resignation After Mounting Political Pressure

On Tuesday, December 16, the head of state is scheduled to meet representatives of the parliamentary group of "Revival" at 10:00 a.m., followed by consultations with Delyan Peevski's DPS-New Beginning at 11:30 a.m., the presidency announced. These talks come after the first round of consultations held on Monday with the two largest parliamentary groups: GERB and WCC-DB.

During the meeting with GERB, the coalition was represented solely by its deputy parliamentary group chair, Denitsa Sacheva. She stated unequivocally that GERB would not seek to form a new cabinet within the current parliament, arguing that the country needs a reset of public trust. Sacheva urged President Radev to promptly announce early parliamentary elections and challenged him to take part in them personally, accusing the presidency of having turned into what she described as “a large party headquarters.”

Radev rejected the suggestion that the consultations should turn into an election campaign or speculation about a potential political project of his own. He stressed that the priority at this stage is stability, particularly in relation to the preparation of the 2026 state budget and Bulgaria’s path toward joining the euro area under complex domestic and international conditions.

Sacheva also confirmed that the resigning government would submit an extension budget, noting that the draft budget for the coming year had sparked the wave of protests seen across the country over the past two weeks. Although the cabinet later withdrew and revised the draft, it failed to present a substantially different version, which ultimately led to its resignation.

Further reading: Consultations With Radev: GERB Insists on Early Elections, Submits Extended Budget Ahead of Bulgaria’s Euro Adoption

The consultations with WCC-DB followed shortly afterward. Speaking after the meeting, WCC co-chair Assen Vassilev said that forming a government within the current National Assembly is both unrealistic and undesirable. He argued that the so-called “Borissov-Peevski model” must be dismantled and that the change of government is only the first step in that process.

WCC-DB reiterated its demands for an extension of the state budget, amendments to the Electoral Code to introduce fully machine-based voting, and the removal of National Security Service (NSS) protection from members of parliament. The delegation at the meeting included Asen Vassilev, Nikolai Denkov, Ivaylo Mirchev, Bozhidar Bozanov, Atanas Atanasov and Kristina Petkova.

Further reading: Consultations With Radev: WCC-DB and the President Agree on Machine Voting and Removal of Peevski's Security

President Radev began the consultations on Monday after the GERB-BSP-TISP government, supported in parliament by DPS-New Beginning, stepped down following sustained public protests. So far, all parliamentary forces have indicated that they oppose any attempt to reconfigure a cabinet within the existing legislature.

Once the president completes consultations with all parliamentary groups, he will proceed with the formal handing of exploratory mandates to form a government: first to GERB, then to WCC-DB, and finally to a third party of his choosing. Should all three attempts fail, Radev will appoint a caretaker prime minister from the constitutionally defined list of eligible officials, including the parliamentary speaker, the governor or deputy governors of the Bulgarian National Bank, the ombudsman or deputy ombudsman, or the chair or deputies of the Court of Auditors. He will then set a date for early parliamentary elections (expected in March or post-March 2026).