Bulgaria on Monday (1 August) announced snap general elections on October 2 following the toppling of a reformist coalition that tried to tackle endemic graft in the European Union’s poorest country.
President Rumen Radev dissolved parliament from Tuesday and set the date for the new vote — the fourth election in 18 months.
The reformist coalition was in office for just over six months.
“The head of state schedules elections for national assembly on 2 October,” his office said in a statement.
Radev appointed an interim government, headed by his demographics and social policy advisor Galab Donev.
[Full list of the caretaker cabinet here.]
The move came after parties failed to agree on a new coalition after the difficultly formed four-party cabinet of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was toppled in June.
Bulgaria’s political crisis enters third loop with new election in sight
Bulgarians are heading to another snap election – the third since April 2021, with each vote until now failing to form a viable government in a spiralling political crisis with no end in sight, EURACTIV Bulgaria reports.
Petkov made the fight against corruption the motto of his government but his reform drive was undermined in the withdrawal of the antisystem “There is such a people” party that ensured him a fragile majority in the 240-seat parliament.
Petkov’s cabinet was then toppled by the opposition in the first successful no-confidence vote in Bulgaria’s democratic history.
Analysts say the snap poll will likely usher in another fragmented legislature with stronger representation of pro-Russian parties, potentially making the formation of a ruling coalition even more difficult.
Three recent polls showed as many as seven parties passing the four percent entry threshold.
Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic and its 240-seat legislature, elected for a period of four years, votes in a cabinet.
The lack of a functioning parliament makes it impossible to pass laws and could exacerbate the country’s economic woes with soaring inflation and worries about gas supplies after Russia cut supplies to Bulgaria days following the war in Ukraine.
Source: euractiv.com
