Bulgarian president invites 6th largest group TISP to form cabinet, nominate prime minister

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Following the failure of Bulgaria's two largest parliamentary parties to form a government, President Rumen Radev has formally invited the There is Such a People (TISP) party to form a cabinet and nominate a prime minister, local media reported on Monday.

“I call on you to proceed immediately to these talks, to bet on a constructive and transparent approach, and to inform us about results within a reasonable period of time,” he said at a ceremony to officially invite the TISP to form Cabinet, according to state-run BTA news agency.

Radev warned that this is the last chance for this parliament to form a government following the June 9 early elections.

TISP is the sixth largest parliamentary group in the 50th National Assembly.

They are the third parliamentary group to be tasked with exploring options for forming a government, following the largest group, GERB-UDF, which chose Rosen Zhelyazkov as prime minister but failed to secure the necessary votes in parliament.

On July 22, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), which had become the second largest group after a schism within the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) reduced its size, declined the cabinet-forming mandate immediately.

Bulgarian constitution allows president to choose the parliamentary group to hand the third mandate, and Radev chose TSIP, which has only the 16 lawmakers in Bulgaria’s 240-seat National Assembly.

The constitution also allows flexibility in the timing of the return of the third mandate, whether fulfilled or not.

If the third mandate is not fulfilled, the president must schedule parliamentary elections within two months of the return of the mandate.