May 15 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria’s president Rumen Radev said on Monday that he is tasking Mariya Gabriel, the prime minister-designate put forward by the centre-right coalition of GERB and the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), which came first in the April general election, with the formation of a government.
"I will propose a government of experts united by clear priorities to one purpose - the well-being of Bulgarians," Gabriel said, as seen in a live broadcast by the state broadcaster BNT.
Gabriel will have one week to put together a cabinet or return the mandate unfulfilled.
The proposed government will need to get the support of at least 121 MPs in the 240-seat parliament.
The GERB-UDF coalition holds 69 seats in the National Assembly after winning 26.51% of the vote in the snap election.
Election runner-up, the coalition of We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB), got 24.54% of the vote and has 64 MPs. Four other parties are represented in parliament - the staunchly nationalist, pro-Russia formation Vazrazhdane (Revival) with 37 MPs, the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with 36 MPs, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) with 23 and the populist There is Such a People (TISP) with 11 MPs.
If the mandate is not fulfilled or the proposed cabinet fails to be voted through in parliament, the president will have to hand the second exploratory mandate to the WCC-DB coalition.
Gabriel has been European Commissioner since 2019, responsible for innovation, research, culture, education and youth. Between 2017 and 2019, Gabriel served as European Commissioner for digital economy and society.