Bulgaria's center-right GERB party, which narrowly won last month's parliamentary elections, has reached a compromise with the second-placed We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition to form a government, top officials from both political organizations said.
GERB's nominee for prime minister, former EU Commissioner Maria Gabriel, and Continue the Change--Democratic Bulgaria's leader Nikolay Denkov have agreed to rotate as head of the government every nine months, they both announced at a joint news conference on May 22.
GERB won a narrow victory in the April 2 vote -- the country's fifth inconclusive parliamentary poll in two years -- with 26.5 percent of the vote, or 69 seats. The pro-European We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria was next with 24.5 percent, giving it 64 mandates. The combined 133 seats will give the two parties a slim majority in the 240-seat parliament.
According to the agreement, the coalition government will have a pro-European Union agenda, with obtaining membership in the Schengen passport-free area and the euro monetary union as top priorities along with fighting Russian influence in Bulgaria's security sector.
Bulgaria has been governed mainly by caretaker governments appointed by President Rumen Radev since public anger over years of corruption boiled over into massive protests in 2020. In February, Radev dissolved parliament and announced the April 2 vote.
Last year in June, the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov fell after a no-confidence vote in parliament after only six months in power.
Petkov and his fragile coalition took over in December 2021 following eight months of political impasse and two interim administrations after protests against high-level corruption ended the decade-long rule of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov -- the head of GERB.
The political crisis has prompted EU and NATO member Bulgaria to postpone adopting the euro by one year to 2025. In December, Austrian and Dutch opposition blocked Bulgaria and neighboring Romania from being admitted to the Schengen area.