Who are the possible candidates for acting prime minister

After no agreement has been reached on a government, the president, after consultation with the parliamentary groups and on the proposal of the candidate for interim prime minister, appoints an interim government and schedules new elections within two months. After the changes to the Constitution for an ex-officio prime minister, the head of state can choose from among the Speaker of the National Assembly, the governor or deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), the chairman or deputy chairman of the Audit Chamber and the ombudsman or his deputy.

“There is such a people” (ITN) returned President Rumen Radev's unfulfilled third mandate to form a government earlier today. After none of the three mandates to form a government was fulfilled, early parliamentary elections are coming. The upcoming early vote will be the sixth after the regular parliamentary elections on April 4, 2021. The last early elections were held on June 9 this year.

The current acting Prime Minister is Dimitar Glavchev, who was elected to the post as Chairman of the Audit Chamber.

The list of possible prime ministers is getting even shorter, President Rumen Radev noted today. It was partially renewed with the election of Raya Nazaryan as Speaker of the National Assembly. I have already spoken with all the others, but I will listen to them to find out if there is a change in their opinion, explained Rumen Radev. You remember that they categorically refused to take the post of Prime Minister, added the President. Rumen Radev will hold a meeting with Raya Nazaryan today.

What are the options before the head of state?

Chairman of the National Assembly – Raya Nazarian

Raya Nazaryan from GERB-SDS was elected as the Speaker of the 50th National Assembly on June 20. She collected 131 "for" votes, 66 - "against" votes. and 39 abstained. The election of Nazaryan was supported by 68 deputies from GERB-SDS, 47 - from DPS, and 16 - from ITN.

I have no ambitions to become an official prime minister, and if I am invited by President Radev to take up this position, I will decline, said Parliament Speaker Raya Nazaryan last week. From 15:00 today there is a meeting between the President and the Speaker of the National Assembly.

BNB Governor - Dimitar Radev

Dimitar Radev has been the governor of the Bulgarian National Bank since July 15, 2015. Elected by the current National Assembly for a second six-year term, starting July 18, 2023, according to the BNB website. He was nominated by GERB-SDS, and during the vote in the parliament he was supported by the deputies of "We continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria". (PP-DB) and DPS.

It is not a good idea for the BNB to get involved in the political process, said its governor Dimitar Radev in March, when he spoke with President Rumen Radev.

Deputy governors of the BNB

Radoslav Milenkov is deputy governor, head of the "Banking Supervision" department, and member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian National Bank, elected by the 44th National Assembly on March 22, 2019 for a six-year term. The Parliament elected him unanimously with 115 votes "in favor", according to information from the "Reference" department. of BTA.

Petar Chobanov, a former deputy from the DPS, is deputy governor, head of the "Banking" department, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian National Bank, elected by the current National Assembly on July 26, 2023 for a six-year term. 148 deputies voted for his candidacy (61 from GERB-SDS; 56 from PP-DB and 31 from DPS).

Andrey Gyurov, former MP from “We continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria" (PP-DB), is the deputy governor, head of the “Issue” department, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian National Bank, elected by the current parliament on July 26, 2023 for a six-year term. Andrey Gyurov's nomination was supported by 148 deputies (61 from GERB-SDS; 56 from PP-DB and 31 from DPS).

On June 27, the Commission for Combating Corruption notified the BNB of a decision it had issued, with which it found incompatibility with regard to Andrey Gyurov, deputy manager, head of the "Issue" department. Then, on July 16, the BNB announced that until the court and the parliament decide whether Andrey Gyurov can be the deputy governor in charge of the "Issue" department and a member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian National Bank, he stops exercising his powers.

This case is very important and is being monitored very carefully by the European Commission and the European Central Bank, said Andrey Gyurov, who was removed as deputy governor of the BNB. He commented on the topic after the first session of the Supreme Administrative Court on Gyurov's appeal against the decision of the BNB Board of Directors.

Chairman of the Audit Chamber - Dimitar Glavchev

Dimitar Glavchev was elected chairman of the Audit Chamber on July 28, 2023 by the current National Assembly. Glavchev is nominated by GERB-SDS. He received 148 votes "for", 34 - "against", 6 abstained. At the end of March, President Rumen Radev nominated Dimitar Glavchev as a candidate for acting prime minister.
Deputy Chairmen of the Audit Chamber

On April 9, 2015, the National Assembly elected Gorica Grancharova-Kozhareva and Toshko Todorov as vice-chairmen of the Audit Chamber, according to information from the "Reference" department. of BTA. The two were proposed by the then chairman of the Audit Chamber Tsvetan Tsvetkov.

The Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman

There is currently neither an ombudsman nor a deputy.

On April 10, the then speaker of the parliament, Rosen Zhelyazkov, announced that the powers of the ombudsman, Diana Kovacheva, had been terminated after she resigned. Rosen Zhelyazkov announced that the National Assembly received a letter in which Kovacheva stated that she was resigning her position as ombudsman in connection with her election as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights and her upcoming inauguration. March 27, the powers of the deputy ombudsman Elena Cherneva – Markova were also terminated after she resigned. As a reason, Elena Cherneva – Markova indicated personal motives.

In cases of premature termination of the ombudsman's mandate, a new ombudsman is elected within one month of the entry into force of the decision to terminate the powers, states the Law on the ombudsman. However, the procedure of electing a new ombudsman has not started.