He does so by claiming that the appointment of the prime minister is unconstitutional because his re-election would not guarantee a fair electoral process.
The president of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, has rejected the new provisional government presented by the interim prime minister, Goritsa Grancharova-Kozharevaclaiming that it will not guarantee that the parliamentary electionsscheduled for October 20, are clean.
Grancharova-Kozhareva introduced her Cabinet ministers, including Kalin Stoyanovwho would maintain his position as Minister of the Interior. But the president demanded that Grancharova-Kozhareva replace Stoyanov, claiming that His permanence in office would not guarantee the holding of clean elections in Bulgaria.
When Grancharova-Kozhareva refused to do so, Radev announced that he would not sign the decree necessary to authorize his choice of Cabinet ministers. According to local media, Grancharova-Kozhareva said that was going to deliver a report to the Attorney General’s Office.
Local media also reported that Police gathered around the president’s building to display posters supporting the Minister of the Interior.
The Bulgarian Parliament held early elections in Junethe sixth time in three years that Bulgarians go to the polls. Despite repeated elections, the country has had difficulty creating a stable government. Radev’s rejection of the Grancharova-Kozhareva Cabinet represents the indefinite postponement of the elections.
Criticisms of some constitutionalists
The decision of the Bulgarian president is unprecedented and constitutional experts are divided over whether this is a constitutional issue, a political issue, or both.
“The crisis is not constitutional, the crisis is political, and it has arisen from the incapacity of the National Assembly to provide a complete list of candidates from whom the president must choose, as stipulated in the constitutional text,” states Natalia Kselova, expert in this matter.
