Bulgarian President Introduces New Caretaker Cabinet, Prime Minister Retains Post

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Thursday announced the composition of the new caretaker cabinet, with Prime Minister Stefan Yanev and most of the current cabinet members retaining their posts.

Yanev will head the interim government until Bulgaria holds its third parliamentary elections on November 14, following previous inconclusive votes in April and July.

�The new government includes three new ministers. Valeri Belchev has taken the post of Minister of Finance, Daniela Vezieva have become Minister of Economy, and Hristo Aleksiev have been appointed Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications.

All other ministers, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoyev and Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov, retained their portfolios.

"The government uncovered a difficult legacy, shed light on numerous corruption schemes and curbed them, ended racketeering in business ... By your activities, you have returned part of the Bulgarians' trust in institutions ... I expect you, in addition to strengthening statehood, to organize fair elections," Radev said, as quoted by the Bulgarian National Television.

After the announcement of the composition of the new cabinet, the ministers were sworn in, marking the first time in the history of Bulgaria that one caretaker cabinet transferred power to another caretaker cabinet.

Earlier in September, the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party Korneliya Ninova gave up her mandate to form a government. This was the third attempt to establish a new cabinet of ministers after April and July parliamentary elections. According to the Bulgarian constitution, since all three attempts to form a government failed, the president formed a caretaker cabinet to prepare for new parliamentary elections. The country plans to hold parliamentary elections along with the presidential one on November 14.