Bulgaria: GERB Returns Mandate, Fails to Form Government

"I accept the Executive Committee's decision to return the mandate to form a government," said outgoing Prime Minister and leader of election winners GERB in a video on Facebook in the presence of GERB-UDF's nominee for prime minister Daniel Mitov, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova and GERB Floor Leader Desislava Atanasova.

On Tuesday, GERB, in their capacity as the largest group in Parliament, received from President Rumen Radev an exploratory

mandate to form a government headed by former Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.

On Wednesday, GERB-UDF invited the There Is Such a People (TISP) party to consultations for putting together a government under GERB-UDF's mandate. In a written response presented to journalists by TISP Floor Leader Toshko Yordanov, the party said: "We consider GERB to be the main symbol of the status-quo, and it is out of the question to discuss any government proposed by that party."

GERB-UDF also invited Democratic Bulgaria to talks about the future government. Democratic Bulgaria, too, declined the

invitation, arguing that GERB remains the main vehicle of "the flawed Borissov model of governance."

"TISP will not form a government because they are afraid, they will not act as responsibly as we did," Borissov said. He also

recommended that the plenary sittings in Parliament be aired live, so that people can see what is going on./BTA