SOFIA (Bulgaria), November 14 (SeeNews) – Main opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party will decline an offer to form a government within the current parliament, party leader Kornelia Ninova said on Sunday night.
Prime minister Boyko Borissov said earlier the cabinet would resign following the defeat of the governing GERB party's candidate in the presidential elections. The move opens the way for early elections halfway through the term of office of Borissov's minority coalition government.
“When the mandate is handed to me – we will return it,” Ninova said during a news conference on election night sitting side by side with president elect Rumen Radev.
The Socialist party has had no intention of forming a government ever since the 2014 parliamentary elections gave the party 38 of the 240 seats in parliament, Ninova added. Centre-right GERB led by Borissov has 84 seats. Right-wing Reformist Bloc, the junior partner in the coalition government, has 22 seats. The minority coalition cabinet relies on support in parliament from nationalist Patriotic Front who have 17 seats.
On Monday morning, Borissov delivered on his pledge and submitted the resignation of his government to parliament.
“As president, I will not divide people by their political orientation, ethnicity or religion. We are all Bulgarian citizens and we must work for Bulgaria’s prosperity,” Radev said at the news conference.
Asked the president of which country he would meet first – Russia or the United States - Radev said he hopes to have a positive dialogue with both countries during his mandate. Radev will take office in January for a five-year term.