Two rival alliances have agreed to form a coalition government to overcome the political crisis in Bulgaria.
In Bulgaria, which has gone to the elections 5 times in the last 2 years, the alliance of the Citizens’ Initiative for a European Future (GERB) and the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) and the alliance of We Stand for Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DP) will form a coalition government.
Former European Union (EU) Commissioner Maryia Gabriel, GERB’s candidate for prime minister, and Nikolay Denkov, PP’s candidate for prime minister, announced that they had agreed to alternate as prime minister for nine months.
Denkov will assume the post of prime minister after the formation of the government, while Gabriel will serve as deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ihlas News Agency reported.
According to the agreement, the coalition government will pursue a pro-European Union course, with passport-free Schengen area and membership of the euro currency union among its top priorities, and a fight against Russian influence in Bulgaria’s security sector.
In Bulgaria’s 240-seat parliament, GERB-UDF, which won 26.54 percent of the vote, has 69 seats and PP-DB, which won 24.61 percent of the vote, has 64 seats, while at least 121 MPs must vote of confidence in the new government.
BULGARIA’S POLITICAL CRISIS
On June 22, 2022, the coalition government in Bulgaria, led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, lost a vote of confidence in parliament.
The political crisis that started after the fall of the government deepened with the failure of other parties in the parliament to form a government, and the elections were held on October 2 last year.
President Rumen Radev gave the task of forming a government to GERB, which finished first in the elections, but GERB failed.
The PP-DP alliance, to which Radev later gave the task, also failed to form the government, and finally the BSP also failed to fulfill the task.
Radev had decided to go to elections again when 3 of the 7 political parties entering the parliament failed in their attempt to form a coalition government.
Due to the political crisis, EU and NATO member Bulgaria’s transition to the euro zone was postponed until 2025, and Austria and the Netherlands prevented Bulgaria from being accepted into the Schengen zone.
On the other hand, after the general elections held in the country on April 4, 2021, July 11, 2021 and November 14, 2021, efforts to form a government failed.
Source : TurkiyeNewsPaper