In compliance with the provisions stipulated in the Constitution, President Rosen Plevneliev handed down the exploratory mandate for forming a government to the GERB political party. The mandate was turned down by the party’s chairman and outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. “We are going through a political crisis and the people gave a clear signal and their demands were submitted to the competent authorities so that we could be as useful as possible in the situation we have found ourselves in,” the head of state said in a statement for the media after the meeting. “We are all working for stability and results to promote the interests of the people and the nation,” Rosen Plevneliev emphasized and he firmly stated that they will abide by the country’s Constitution.

On Wednesday, 27 February, President Rosen Plevneliev will hand down the mandate to the Bulgarian Socialist Party for forming a government within the 41st National Assembly. If the BSP turns down the exploratory mandate that the President will hand them down, the mandate will go to the Rights and Freedoms Movement.  The President recalled that if a caretaker cabinet was formed, its priorities and tasks would first be announced and later on its members.

The meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security, which will be held on Tuesday, 26 February, must guarantee public security, the maintenance of the rule of law and show that the state institutions are functional despite the staged protests, President Plevneliev added. The head of state called on all institutions to continue putting efforts into serving the public interests and “guaranteeing the stability, democratic development and maintenance of democracy in Bulgaria.”

On Thursday, 28 February, the head of state will address the nation in a statement at the National Assembly, in which he will announce the next specific steps he will take.