Bulgaria set to hold 6th snap elections since 2021 after last-ditch effort to form government fails

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Bulgaria is set to hold its sixth snap elections since April 2021 after a last-ditch attempt to form a government failed, local media reported on Monday.

There Is Such a People (TISP) returned the third mandate to form a government which they received last week from the president, the state-run BTA news agency announced.

This was the third unsuccessful attempt to form a regular government, after the two largest parliamentary groups, GERB-UDF and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, also failed to form a government with the first and second mandates.

Speaking to reporters, There Is Such a People parliamentary group leader Toshko Yordanov said: “The political wisdom in one party was not enough to make a decision on the spot ... so we return the mandate unfulfilled."

President Rumen Raved expressed his frustration and warned about the consequences of the country’s political instability.

“The spiral of elections with no results is irritating the public and alienating people from the democratic process, as it paralyzes numerous institutions,” he said.

Under the country’s Constitution, the president, in consultation with parliamentary groups and on the proposal of a candidate for caretaker prime minister, can appoint a caretaker government and schedule new elections within two months.

The upcoming snap elections will be the sixth, after the regular parliamentary elections of April 2021.

The last snap elections took place this June 9.​​​​​​​