President Meets Central Bank Governor, Deputy Governors – Only Andrey Gurov Ready to Serve as Caretaker PM 2026

Balgarianovinite.com President Iliana Iotova met Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Dimitar Radev, as well as BNB Deputy Governors Petar Chobanov, Radoslav Milenkov and Andrey Gurov on Wednesday as part of the procedure for appointing a caretaker cabinet. Only Gurov said he is ready to serve as caretaker prime minister.
Under the Bulgarian National Bank Act, if the Governor or a Deputy Governor has expressly agreed to be appointed caretaker prime minister, they must submit their resignation.
Here’s how the talks went: 
Central Bank Governor Dimitar Radev told journalists that if he accepts to become a caretaker prime minister, “it would constitute a violation of the Bulgarian and European legislation, as well as the established ethical norms.” “The sanction for such a violation would be immediate resignation. Such a development carries the risk of destabilizing, perhaps, currently the most stable public institution – the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), as well as depriving the country of full representation and voting rights on the Governing Council of the European Central Bank at the very start of our membership in the eurozone,” commented the BNB Governor. According to him, this would send a very negative signal to both markets and international partners.
BNB Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov also said that he will not become caretaker prime minister. “The answer is “no”, I don’t think I am currently needed in that role,” he told journalists. “The difference from previous procedures is that back then I said I would take on the role of caretaker prime minister only if I believed there was a risk of a constitutional crisis and no one else was willing to agree. Now the list has been expanded, and some people, even at the time of their selection, were fully aware that they could become candidates and have expressed their consent. I do not believe there will be a constitutional crisis, nor that I am needed in this role,” Chobanov explained.
BNB Deputy Governor Radoslav Milenkov also said that he will not take the position. “I gave the same answer I gave the previous president the last three times,” Milenkov added. He stressed that he had too many commitments at the European Central Bank and the Bulgarian National Bank. 
BNB Deputy Governor Andrey Gurov said he is ready to serve as caretaker prime minister. “I am ready to take the responsibility, if this were to happen following clear principles and no hidden conditions,” he added. “Principles mean that Bulgaria is Europe, and in Europe elections are fair. Fair elections are possible when a caretaker government does not interference in the political arena, remains sufficiently neutral, and operates only within the powers granted to it by the Constitution,” Gurov said. Asked whether he was concerned about the legal case involving him, Gurov said he could not comment from a legal standpoint because he was not a lawyer. “From a professional standpoint, the Administrative Court has already overturned the decision of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which was the basis for my removal from the Governing Council. A case is now pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and at the hearing I received very strong support from the opinions of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission,” Gurov said.
On Thursday, the President will receive Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva and Deputy Ombudsman Maria Filipova. On Friday, Iotova will meet with Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) President Dimitar Glavchev and BNAO Vice Presidents Margarita Nikolova and Silvia Kadreva.
Under Article 99, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, after failure to reach agreement on forming a government, the President, following consultations with the parliamentary groups and on the proposal of the candidate for caretaker prime minister, appoints a caretaker government and schedules new parliamentary elections within two months.
The pool of potential caretaker prime ministers from which the President may choose is limited to the Chairperson of the National Assembly (Raya Nazaryan), the Governor or Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (Dimitar Radev, Petar Chobanov, Andrey Gurov and Radoslav Milenkov), the President or a Vice President of the National Audit Office (Dimitar Glavchev, Margarita Nikolova and Silvia Kadreva) and the National Ombudsman (Velislava Delcheva) or the Deputy Ombudsman (Maria Filipova). President Meets Central Bank Governor, Deputy Governors – Only Andrey Gurov Ready to Serve as Caretaker PM 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-28 18:34:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law