Bulgaria: Early Elections Seem Inevitable

Another early parliamentary election seems increasingly likely after the overthrow of Kiril Petkov's government, and the earliest realistic date for this is set for September 25, according to unofficial comments from the main parliamentary forces. According to the requests so far, the chances for a new cabinet within this National Assembly are rather theoretical and the party headquarters are already considering the deadlines for the exhaustion of the constitutional procedure and are informally discussing the appropriate dates for convening a vote.

Calculations show that if the procedure is carried out at the usual pace - without too much haste, but also without undue delay, this parliament will probably go down in history at the end of July. Thus, there will certainly be time to adopt bills identified as a priority - updating the budget with aid due to the economic crisis and bills on which the receipt of funds under the European Recovery and Sustainability Plan depends. This is the period in which Petkov's cabinet will remain in power, albeit in resignation, before being succeeded by a caretaker government.

According to the Constitution, after a vote of no confidence, the Prime Minister must submit the resignation of the government to the National Assembly. Yesterday in Brussels, Kiril Petkov said he would do so on Monday morning (June 27th). According to constitutionalists, there should be an official document, but it is not necessary to vote for the resignation, as it is assumed that with a vote of no confidence the National Assembly practically revokes the governing mandate it gave to the Council of Ministers in its election.

The president is then obliged to launch a new constitutional procedure for...