SOFIA, May 5 (Reuters) – Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova said on Tuesday she would offer the mandate to form a new government to Progressive Bulgaria (PB), the party of former president Rumen Radev who comfortably won a parliamentary election last month.
“I will hand over the mandate to form a government on May 7,” Iotova said, adding that she had been assured by PB, the largest parliamentary party, that they would be ready with a proposed cabinet.
Iotova said she hoped that parliament would confirm the government in office on May 8.
Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party had won 44.6% of the vote, after all ballots were counted, enough for it to govern without a coalition partner, ending a period of political instability that has led to eight elections in five years.
PB has previously announced that Radev would be its candidate for prime minister.
Radev is a eurosceptic former fighter pilot who opposes further military support for Ukraine’s war effort against Moscow. He stepped down from Bulgaria’s largely ceremonial presidency in January to run in the April parliamentary election after mass protests forced out the previous government in December.
(Reporting by Stoyan Nenov, writing by Daria Sito-SucicEditing by Gareth Jones)
