Bulgarian president denies PM nominee’s proposal of caretaker gov’t

SOFIA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday refused to appoint the caretaker government proposed by the Prime Minister nominee Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, and withdrew her nomination.
After receiving Kozhareva’s cabinet lineup, Radev said her proposal could not guarantee the calming of the political situation and the holding of fair elections.
In particular, Radev expressed disagreement with Kozhareva’s proposal that the current Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov would stay in the position.
According to the local media reports, Radev asked Kozhareva to nominate another candidate to helm the Interior Ministry within four hours but she immediately refused to do so. In response, Radev said her engagement to form a government was over.
However, the president said he would continue to try to convince potential candidates for caretaker prime minister to undertake the task. The current caretaker government led by Dimitar Glavchev would continue to serve until the formation of a new caretaker government.
On Aug. 9, Radev nominated Kozhareva as the new caretaker prime minister, tasking her with proposing a caretaker government. Kozhareva, currently acting head of the Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO), was selected from a very limited pool of eligible candidates defined by constitutional amendments passed in December 2023.
These amendments stipulate that the caretaker prime minister must be chosen from among the speaker of the National Assembly, the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the president or vice-president of the BNAO, or the Ombudsman or a deputy Ombudsman. ■