SOFIA -- Bulgaria is preparing for yet another general election -- the sixth since April 2021 -- after the populist There Is Such a People (ITN) party on March 28 refused to form a government, the third party to decline the mandate.
Previously, the center-right GERB and its former coalition partner, the pro-Western Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria (CCDB) both said they could not form a new cabinet.
ITN's move paves the way for President Rumen Radev to appoint a caretaker government and schedule elections in two months.
Bulgaria will vote for the European Parliament on June 9, so the two polls could be held on the same day, but that depends on Radev's ability to quickly appoint a caretaker government.
Following the elections in April last year, Bulgaria had a joint government supported by the reformist CCDB and GERB. They had agreed on an 18-month government with a rotation of the prime ministers -- first Nikolay Denkov from CCDB and, after nine months, Maria Gabriel from GERB.
Denkov stepped down on March 5 to let GERB lead the government for the following nine months, as agreed. But Gabriel failed to form a government, and on March 27 Denkov also rejected Radev's invitation to try to put together a cabinet.
Bulgaria is the poorest of the 27 members of the European Union and has been wrestling with widespread corruption.
The Balkan country has been grappling with political instability since major anti-corruption protests in 2020.
Before the elections in April last year, the country was run by caretaker governments appointed by Radev in the absence of a stable elected coalition.
Radev on March 28 said he would start consultations with all potential caretaker prime ministers on March 30.
Following constitutional amendments, the president can choose between the chairman of the National Assembly, the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the chairman or deputy chairman of the Audit Chamber, and the ombudsman or his deputy.