President Iotova Launches Caretaker PM Consultations, Stresses Honest Elections as Key Priority 2026

Balgarianovinite.com President Iliana Iotova said the most important goal is to have honest, transparent and well-run elections on Tuesday. She spoke at the start of consultations with GERB-UDF as part of the procedure to appoint a caretaker PM.
Iotova said that this “was also the wish of hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian citizens who protested”.
“We are doing everything possible, in the situation we are in, to have the earliest possible date for holding elections. We have no intention whatsoever to artificially delay things and stretch them out in time. We are guided by the desire to hear everyone, both the candidates [for caretaker PM] and the parliamentary groups, and also to take the holidays into account, because people are entitled to them and they deserve them,” Iotova said.
“The election of a new National Assembly Chair is entirely in the hands of the MPs,” she said, commenting on GERB-UDF’s proposal to elect a new parliamentary speaker so that there can also be a new candidate for caretaker prime minister. “It can in no way be my wish or recommendation, still less the choice of a specific person, because I am one of those people who deeply believe in the separation of powers,” Iotova added. “I will also put this to the other parliamentary groups. I understand this is your proposal, but given the limited time we may have before the elections, I honestly do not know whether it will be feasible.”
“We face difficult moments in the coming months, but our goal is common – transparent and honest elections and a functioning state – both until the formation of a caretaker cabinet and during its work until a regular government,” Iotova said.
She noted that the consultations are part of the constitutional procedure, but cannot under any circumstances be formal.
“After the latest changes to the Constitution, the National Assembly is a permanently functioning body,” Iotova said. In her words, this shows that political responsibility is not interrupted; on the contrary, it becomes even more shared between the legislative and the executive, between the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly. “I hope for constructive work going forward,” Iotova added.
She said that, after the constitutional amendments, she must choose a caretaker PM from a strictly defined list of ten individuals. They were selected by the National Assembly, the President said. Unfortunately, half of them declined, for various reasons, both political and related to constraints under national and European legislation. She said she would exercise her constitutional powers and assign the mandate to one of them.
“Today’s consultations are linked to your assessment of the most important and most urgent issues that our country must address in the coming months. Your assessments and positions will help me choose which of the five who have agreed will be the most suitable. I will take into account all your considerations and positions, but I will make my decision primarily in line with my own understanding of the interests of the state and of the citizens,” Iotova said.
Iotova will also hold talks with Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) later on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced the resignation of his Cabinet on December 11, 2025, at an emergency press conference in the National Assembly, amid mass protests initially triggered by the draft 2026 budget and broader public discontent over governance and corruption.Parliament accepted the resignation on December 12, 2025, by 227 votes in favour, with none against and no abstentions, which formally put the Cabinet out of office and set in motion the constitutional procedure for forming a new government.Following the resignation, then-President Radev launched consultations with parliamentary groups and began handing exploratory mandates to form a new regular government. The first mandate, to GERB-UDF, and the second, to Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria, were returned unfulfilled. The third mandate, handed to the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, was returned immediately on January 16, 2026.Under the Constitution, a government in resignation continues to perform its functions until a new regular cabinet is elected or a caretaker one appointed; if all three mandates fail, the head of state must appoint a caretaker cabinet and schedule early parliamentary elections within two months.On January 19, 2026, Radev announced he would step down and tendered his resignation to the Constitutional Court a day later.The Constitutional Court ruled on January 23 that his mandate ended early, and Vice President Iliana Iotova assumed the presidency for the remainder of the term.In the days that followed, Iotova opened the constitutional procedure for appointing a caretaker prime minister and began consultations with eligible office-holders. Ahead of the talks, President Iotova said the schedule for consultations on appointing a caretaker prime minister and caretaker government was almost ready, and that she would follow the Constitution strictly and would not allow the process to become a mere formality. The pool of eligible nominees was outlined as the National Assembly chair, the Bulgarian National Bank governor/deputy governors, the Bulgarian National Audit Office president/vice presidents, and the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria or a deputy ombudsman.The first meeting was with National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan, who said that a political figure should not serve as caretaker prime minister because impartiality is required and the choice could raise suspicions of interference in the electoral process; the meeting was held behind closed doors.The presidential press service then released the timetable for the remaining separate sessions: central bank governor and deputy governors on January 28, ombudsman and deputy ombudsman on January 29, and audit office president and vice presidents on January 30.The talks continued with the central bank leadership. Dimitar Radev said accepting the caretaker PM post would violate Bulgarian and European rules and could destabilize the central bank and affect Bulgaria’s representation on the European Central Bank Governing Council; Petar Chobanov and Radoslav Milenkov also said they would not accept; Andrey Gurov said he was ready to take the responsibility under clear principles and no hidden conditions, emphasizing neutrality and fair elections.In the sessions with the ombudsman institution, Velislava Delcheva said the ombudsman has no place in the executive branch and stressed the need to preserve independence in line with European and international standards, while Maria Filipova said she would accept to serve as caretaker prime minister if selected.The meetings concluded with the Bulgarian National Audit Office leadership, held in separate closed-to-the-media sessions. Dimitar Glavchev said he was inclined to accept if asked and pointed to his prior experience as caretaker prime minister; Margarita Nikolova and Silvia Kadreva also declared readiness, with the audit office officials joining the two candidates who had already signalled willingness.After completing the round of meetings, Iotova said she would announce the caretaker PM after consultations with parliamentary parties, and described the talks with nominees as substantive and responsible, covering tasks for the coming months, restoring trust in elections, euro-related issues and the price shock, foreign policy and institutional coordination. 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