SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s caretaker government, led by National Bank Deputy Governor Andrey Gyurov, took office on Thursday and pledged to ensure conditions for fair elections on April 19.
The previous government resigned on December 11 after weeks of street protests over its failure to tackle corruption and raise taxes to support higher state spending.
Stoyil Tsiselkov, a member of the Public Council of the Central Electoral Commission, has been appointed Minister of Fair Elections, the first time such a position has been held in the Bulgarian government.
After consultations with all political parties, President Ilyana Itova appointed Dyurov as caretaker prime minister and set April 19 as the date for parliamentary elections, the eighth in five years.
“We will accept the challenge of governing the country until a formal cabinet is elected,” Dyurov told lawmakers.
“In addition to fair elections, we will work on key government issues. We will prepare the basis for a new extended budget and the 2026 budget,” he said.
Bulgaria joined the euro zone on January 1 and faces long-term political instability, with political parties unable to form a stable governing coalition in a fragmented parliament.
(Reporting by Alex Lefkowitz; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
