Bulgarian PM submits resignation

SOFIA -- Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov submitted his resignation to the National Assembly on Tuesday, he announced in a statement.

Denkov was nominated for his position by the We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition, the second largest parliamentary group. The nomination was as a result of a deal negotiated when his government was elected by the Parliament on June 6, 2023.

According to the deal, PP-DB, which has 63 seats in the 240-seat parliament, was backed by the 69-seat group of GERB-UDF. In exchange for its support, GERB-UDF's representative Mariya Gabriel became the only deputy prime minister in the cabinet, as well as foreign minister. It was also negotiated that after nine months Gabriel would become prime minister, while Denkov would become a deputy prime minister.

However, an automatic rotation of a prime minister with his deputy is not allowed under the Bulgarian constitution, and Denkov has therefore now resigned. Subsequently, his resignation must be discussed and voted in the parliament.

According to the country's constitution, if the resignation is approved Bulgarian President Rumen Radev should conduct consultations with the parliamentary groups, and hand an exploratory mandate to a prime minister-designate nominated by the largest parliamentary group.

Negotiations between GERB-UDF and PP-DB related to the "rotation" are underway.