Rumen Radev

Protest before the presidency in Sofia. It is organized on social networks and is under the title "Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic and a full member of the EU and NATO".

There is an increased police presence.

On Tuesday evening, pro-EU protesters will rally near the presidency and the Ministerial Council in Sofia, accusing President Rumen Radev of undermining the parliamentary system and hampering efforts to form a government after a two years of repeated elections.

"We clearly saw an attack on the parliamentary republic. No one can afford to urge Bulgaria to not have a regular government, no one can put the budget and people's money in the background because of their personal power ambitions.

President Rumen Radev handed over the second exploratory mandate for forming a government to the second largest parliamentary party - the coalition "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB). Atanas Atanasov from DB told the president to instruct Acad. Nikolay Denkov to propose a cabinet composition to be submitted to the National Assembly for a vote.

"Anyone who has the ambition to make any deep changes in the services must be fully aware that these services do not belong to the president, they belong to Bulgaria and are under the direct operational leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - in the person of the Prime Minister, not of the president.

"As the president of Croatia also said - each EU member state has its own historical path. And this is the richness of the EU - that we have different historical roots, we have different national ideas, we have a different path until we reach the EU.

Today, May 24, Bulgarians celebrate the Day of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture, and of Slavic literature.

The holiday will be marked with solemn celebrations throughout the country.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (R) receives a vacant mandate from Mariya Gabriel, the GERB-SDS party's candidate for Prime Minister, on 22 May 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

The GERB-SDS candidate for prime minister, Mariya Gabriel, returned the folder, with the first exploratory mandate for the formation of a cabinet, to President Rumen Radev's cabinet, empty.

Two hours before GERB-SDS prime ministerial candidate Mariya Gabriel meets with President Rumen Radev to announce whether she will propose a draft cabinet to be voted on in parliament or return the head of state's first exploratory mandate to form a government, the prosecutor's office announced that they are starting investigations based on reports against former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov a