The leader of Bulgaria's center-right GERB party, coming off a narrow victory in snap parliamentary elections, has nominated Maria Gabriel, currently a European Union commissioner, for the post of prime minister as the country looks to end two years of political instability.
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced the nomination in parliament on May 10, saying Gabriel's portfolio at the EU -- innovation, research, culture, education, and youth -- mirrored the issues that the main parties in the legislature are focused on.
Borisov has said that there would be "no dividing lines" as his party attempts to forge a government following an April election, the country's fifth inconclusive parliamentary poll in two years.
GERB won 26.5 percent of the vote, while the second-place finisher, the pro-European We Continue the Change -- Democratic Bulgaria coalition, took 24.5 percent.
Gabriel, a 43-year-old fluent French speaker, became an EU commissioner in 2017 after being a member of the European Parliament for eight years.
Ahead of the announcement, Borisov had said his candidate was someone "who can lead the economy, industry, modernization in the direction we expect," and would also be "absolutely for the right moment."
Bulgaria has been governed mainly by caretaker governments appointed by President Rumen Radev since public anger over years of corruption boiled over into massive protests in 2020. In February, Radev dissolved parliament and announced the April 2 vote.
In June, the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov fell after a no-confidence vote in parliament after only six months in power.
Petkov and his fragile coalition took over in December 2021 following eight months of political impasse and two interim administrations after the mass protests ended the decade-long rule of former Prime Minister Borisov.
The political crisis has prompted Bulgaria to postpone adopting the euro by one year to 2025.
The Balkan country of 6.5 million is also struggling with rampant inflation that is hampering an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.