April 29 (SeeNews) - President Rumen Radev will hand a mandate to the Socialist Party to form Bulgaria's next government on May 5, party leader Kornelia Ninova said on Thursday, after each of the first- and second-placed political forces in the fragmented parliament failed to forge a governing coalition.
Тhe decision on how to proceed with the mandate will depend on the Socialist Party's collective decision-making bodies, Ninova said in a video file published on the website of local broadcaster bTV.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) came third in the April 4 election after winning 15.01% of the votes. It holds 43 of 240 seats in parliament.
Ninova did not say which political forces in parliament BSP intends to hold talks with in order to try to form government.
Earlier this week, populist formation There Is Such a People, which came second in the election with 17.66% of the votes and holds 51 seats, returned its mandate to form government to the president, saying it did not have enough seats in parliament and partners in order to form a stable cabinet.
Last week, first-placed centre-right GERB-UDF coalition, which controls 75 seats after winning 26.18% of the votes, also returned the mandate to form government as none of the remaining five political forces in parliament was willing to hold talks on a potential coalition cabinet with them.
If the Socialist Party also fails to form government and returns the mandate, the president will appoint a caretaker cabinet and call new elections.
Besides There Is Such a People, two more new political formations entered parliament with a strong anti-corruption agenda - Democratic Bulgaria and Rise Up, Thugs Out, which have 27 and 14 seats, respectively. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms which draws support mainly among ethnic Turks, has 30 MPs.