May 22 (SeeNews) - Mariya Gabriel, nominated for prime minister by Bulgaria's centre-right GERB-UDF coalition which came first in the April general election, on Monday returned unfulfilled an exploratory mandate for forming a government.
The GERB-UDF coalition and election runner-up, the coalition of We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB), have agreed on a rotation government to be formed on the second mandate, Gabriel told president Rumen Radev, as seen in a live broadcast by the state broadcaster BNT.
"In the coming days, I will hand the second mandate to the second-biggest formation in parliament," Radev said.
GERB-UDF holds 69 seats in the 240-seat National Assembly after winning 26.51% of the vote in the snap election, whereas the WCC-DB coalition received 24.54% of the vote in the election and has 64 MPs.