Bulgaria is heading for fresh elections after the Socialists became the third party to fail to form a government following parliamentary elections on April 4.
The Socialists, who came in third place in the election, said on May 1 that they would return the mandate to form a government to President Rumen Radev on May 5.
The announcement came after both the center-right GERB party of outgoing, three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the new anti-establishment party, There Is Such a People (TSN), led by television personality Slavi Trifonov, also gave up trying to form a government.
Under the constitution, if the national assembly fails to form a cabinet after three attempts, the president should dissolve parliament, appoint a caretaker government, and schedule an early election within two months.
The most likely date for a new election is July 11.
While Borisov's GERB came in first in the election, frustration over endemic corruption and poverty cut support for the party to 26 percent.
The TSN, which came in second with 18 percent of the vote, and two other anti-establishment parties made inroads, although the three together lack a majority in the chamber.
The political uncertainty comes as Bulgaria prepares to spend billions of euros from the EU's coronavirus recovery fund and chart a path out of the pandemic.
Bulgaria Set For Early Elections After Last Attempt To Form Government Fails
![A woman walks past election posters of the ruling center-right GERB party in the town of Dupnitsa, Bulgaria, April 2, 2021.](https://gdb.rferl.org/4269af4c-775d-4642-92f6-31ee5028acbc_w250_r1_s.jpg)
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
U.S., Canadian Warplanes Intercept Russian, Chinese Military Aircraft Near Alaska
2Crowdsourcing Russia's Future: Poll Of Experts Considers What Comes After Putin
3Russia Attacks Ukrainian Danube Port For Second Day As NATO Scrambles Warplanes Over Romania
4Turkey Detains Russian Man Suspected Of Car Bombing In Moscow
5Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
6Ukrainian Forces Fight Intense Battles In Donetsk Region, Zelenskiy Says
7Pentagon Finds Another $2 Billion Of Accounting Errors For Ukraine Aid
8'Don't Even Whisper In Your Language': Russian Course For Central Asians Lays Down Strict Rules
9Bulgarian President Admits Blocking Pro-Western Envoy To Kyiv
10Under Relentless Russian Attacks, Ukrainian Power Plant Workers Race To Get The Lights Back On
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.