24-hour deadline given by power sharing partners for negotiations on continuation of joint governance is over, not clear yet whether agreement has been reached

The 24-hour deadline given by the power sharing partners GERB-UDF and “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” (WCC-DB) for negotiations on the continuation of the joint governance has expired. It is not yet clear whether an agreement has been reached.

Shortly after 12 o'clock on March 19, when the deadline set by the GERB-UDF for negotiations expired, it became clear that the talks had been paused. Shortly after that they were resumed, BNT has learned from sources.

The main difference between the two political factions appears to be the draft line-up of the cabinet. GERB-UDF is proposing the replacement of six ministers and has said it will not sign a coalition agreement without annex 1 with the composition of the Gabriel cabinet.

Yesterday, outgoing Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov commented that the draft composition of the cabinet circulated in the media is not acceptable to WCC-DB.

The biggest controversy seems to be over whether Defence Minister Todor Tagarev should remain in his post.

This morning the co-chairman of Democratic Bulgaria, Hristo Ivanov, told the media that there is no news yet.

"We are discussing everything. I hope the discussions will continue, but at the moment we cannot announce anything. Today I hope we are all realistic," Ivanov said.

Delyan Dobrev of GERB-UDF said he was not optimistic.

"I am not very optimistic. I do not understand what is so important about Tagarev that a Tagarev should send us to snap elections," said Delyan Dobrev.

Meanwhile, the presidency confirmed that the head of state is ready to accept Mariya Gabriel when she is ready with her decision on the mandate.

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After receiving the first exploratory mandate from the President yesterday, Mariya Gabriel, announced that they will not delay for a whole week, and by 12 noon today they will announce their decision on whether the mandate will be fulfilled or not. The same was confirmed a little later by the GERB headquarters.

Negotiations began immediately after the meeting with the President, but yesterday the political formations failed to agree. Today the talks resumed at 11 am.

Bulgaria’s president Rumen Radev on March 18 handed Mariya Gabriel, the Prime Minister-designate of GERB-UDF - the winner of last year's general election - a mandate to form a government.

"I accept the mandate on behalf of GERB-UDF with a sense of responsibility. Bulgaria needs stability, which is built on clear principles, transparency, shared responsibility and equality of those who decide to bear the responsibility for Bulgaria," said Gabriel.

Earlier this month, Bulgaria's Parliament accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov of WCC-DB, the second largest political formation in Parliament, as part of the planned rotation of government agreed upon in June 2023 under a power-sharing deal between GERB-UDF and WCC-DB. According to this agreement, WCC-DB’s Nikolai Denkov initially took office as Prime Minister, with GERB-UDF’s Gabriel as Deputy PM, and after nine months, in March 2024, GERB’s Mariya Gabriel, a former EU commissioner, would take over and the two would then switch posts again after a further nine months.

Yesterday, March 18, Gabriel said negotiations between the GERB-UDF and WCC-DB will continue in the afternoon and hoped that they will be finalised in the next 24 hours.

According to the Constitution, Gabriel has 7 days to put together a cabinet or return the mandate unfulfilled.

For a proposed cabinet to take office, it needs support from at least 121 MPs of the 240-seat Par;iament. If the mandate is not fulfilled or the proposed cabinet fails to gain parliamentary approval, the President will hand over an exploratory mandate to the second lagest political faction in Parliament - WCC-DB.

Denkov's cabinet will continue to carry out its duties until a new Prime Minister is elected.