After three failed attempts to form a government, Bulgarians go to the polls again on 2 April to elect a new parliament. The date was already announced, but President Rumen Radev signed the required decree on Friday, paving the way for the country's fifth parliamentary elections in two years.
President Radev had announced on Thursday night that new parliamentary polls would be held on 2 April and that he would dissolve parliament on Friday.
Bulgaria's politicians have been trying unsuccessfully to form a coalition following early elections on 2 October 2022 at which none of the seven parties represented in parliament won an overall majority of seats. The latest to try were the Socialists, but Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova said last week that her party could not form a government because there was no parliamentary majority.
Hers was the third and final attempt to cobble together a governing coalition following the elections. Earlier, the centre-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) of former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, and the liberal Let's Continue the Change (PP) party of former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov had also failed to do so.
Current Prime Minister Galab Donev will remain at the head of the country's interim government until elections are held.
Bulgaria’s months-long government crisis puts Schengen accession and the implementation of the European recovery plan at risk, the president warned previously. The political instability is also causing experts to question the introduction of the euro, normally scheduled for 2024.
