By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) — Efforts to form a new government in Bulgaria have hit a dead end, local media reported Tuesday.
The Conservative GERB-UDF party rejected a final offer from the centrist Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) party, a former power-sharing partner, to form a government, according to the state-run BTA news agency.
In a statement, GERB-UDF said it was "not going to participate in attempts to form a Cabinet on a second or third mandate. Let Bulgarian people decide via elections who and how should run Bulgaria."
The CC-DB's proposed agreement set out guarantees for reforms in the country's judiciary, regulators, and security services with clear implementation deadlines. It also required the GERB-UDF nominate a mutually acceptable prime minister and the Cabinet retain its structure as it was under the incumbent government led by Nikolay Denkov.
According to the BTA, the GERB's refusal of the deal will likely pave the way for early national elections — the country's sixth since April 2021.
It adding that the CC-DB has yet to receive any support from another party on forming a government.
The incumbent Denkov government was a majority coalition of between GERB and CC-DB and has been in power since last June.
Last week, the planned government rotation between the coalition partners and the signing of a renewed government manifest for the next nine months failed.