Bulgaria’s GERB tasked with forming minority government
Al Jazeera
June 8 vote, which handed centre-right party most seats but not a majority, was sixth snap poll in three years.
Bulgaria’s president has mandated a centre-right coalition to form a government almost a month after elections delivered yet another fragmented parliament.
President Rumen Radev tasked the GERB-UDF coalition with forming a government after the June 8 vote made it the largest group in the National Assembly. However, the prospects that the move will put an end to Bulgaria’s long run of political instability look slim.
Prime Minister-designate Rosen Zhelyazkov, a former parliament speaker, accepted the mandate from the president. He then presented a list of proposed cabinet ministers for a minority government, which he asked the president to send to parliament for approval.
The 56-year-old lawyer described his cabinet as “a team of experts and seasoned politicians from GERB”. However, the parliamentary vote, set for later this week, is expected to be challenging.
The GERB-led coalition holds just 68 of the 240 seats in the National Assembly and has yet to succeed in garnering the support from other political parties that it would require to command a majority in the vote.
