Bulgaria's GERB-UDF proposes cabinet led by Rossen Zhelyazkov

GERB-UDF proposes a cabinet of 18 ministers and one deputy prime minister, Zhelyazkov, a former parliament speaker said upon receiving an exploratory mandate for the formation of a government, as seen in a live broadcast by public television BNT.

The proposed cabinet lineup includes Lyudmila Petkova as minister of finance, Delyan Dobrev as energy minister and Temenuzhka Petkova as economy minister.

To take office, the cabinet proposed needs to be backed by more than half of the members of the 240-seat parliament. GERB-UDF coalition holds 68 seats. The only other formation that has so far said it will support a GERB-UDF government, is the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), which is the second biggest political group in the fragmented National Assembly with 47 seats.

If GERB-UDF fails to garner sufficient backing for its cabinet, president Radev will hand an exploratory mandate to the runner up in the elections, the MRF.

In the June 9 snap general election, the country's sixth in three years, GERB-UDF coalition won 24.7% of the vote. Six other political formations, including two pro-Russian parties, crossed the 4% threshold for entry into the unicameral legislature.