What is the procedure after the government resigns? Understanding the Constitution

Following the resignation of the cabinet, the President must initiate a new procedure for handing out exploratory mandates to form a government within the 51st National Assembly, as stipulated by the Constitution.

Today, Parliament voted on the resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. The basic law states that the powers of the Council of Ministers are terminated upon acceptance of the resignation of the Council of Ministers or the Prime Minister.

The President, after consultations with the parliamentary groups, shall assign a candidate for Prime Minister, nominated by the largest parliamentary group in terms of numbers, to form a government, according to the country's basic law. If, within 7 days, the candidate for Prime Minister fails to propose a composition of the Council of Ministers, the President shall assign this to a candidate nominated by the second largest parliamentary group. If a composition of the Council of Ministers is not proposed then, the President shall assign a subsequent parliamentary group to nominate a candidate for Prime Minister.

If no agreement is reached for a government, the President, after consultations with the parliamentary groups, and at the proposal of the candidate for caretaker Prime Minister, appoints a caretaker government and schedules new elections within two months.

According to the latest amendments to the Constitution, a caretaker Prime Minister is appointed from among the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Governor or Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Audit Office and the Ombudsman or their deputy.

The Speaker of the 51st National Assembly is Raya Nazaryan (GERB-SDS).

The Governor of the BNB is Dimitar Radev, and the Deputy Governors are Petar Chobanov, Radoslav Milenkov and Andrey Gyurov.

The Chairman of the Audit Office is Dimitar Glavchev, who has already been caretaker Prime Minister twice. He was appointed as such by decrees of the President on April 9, 2024 and August 27, 2024, performing the duties until the election of a regular government by the National Assembly on January 16, 2025. The Deputy Chairmen of the Audit Office are Silvia Kadreva and Margarita Nikolova.

The Ombudsman is Velislava Delcheva, the Deputy Ombudsman – Maria Filipova.