Six snap elections in a row have failed to yield a stable and effective government, and voters are becoming apathetic in response.
ADVERTISEMENTBulgaria has sworn in a new caretaker government as it prepares for its seventh snap election in three years.
President Rumen Radev announced the vote will take place on 27 October in another attempt to overcome a political impasse caused by minority governments, failed coalitions and low voter turnout.
“The political crisis is not over,” Radev said ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, adding that there will be a solution only when there is a sustainable majority in parliament that elects an effective government.
Radev reappointed caretaker prime minister Dimitar Glavchev to lead the interim cabinet after a false start last week, when he rejected the previous candidate, Goritsa Kozhareva, because they disagreed on her proposed candidate for interior minister.
Gripped by instability
Bulgaria, a country of 6.7 million, has been gripped by political instability since 2020, when mass protests erupted against corrupt politicians who had allowed oligarchs to take control of state institutions.
Yet in a run of six snap elections, only two have produced an elected government — and both collapsed after reform-oriented politicians attempted to tackle political graft and cut end the country’s energy and security reliance on Russia.
The last election, in June, failed to produce a clear winner, with a fragmented legislature of seven parties unable to cobble together a viable coalition.
The centre-right GERB party led by three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borissov won 68 seats, the most of any party but well short of a majority in the 240-seat parliament. It could not find coalition partners.
The crisis is expected to slow down Bulgaria's plans to swiftly join the Eurozone and implement the reforms required to unlock EU recovery funds.
The flurry of snap elections has also dampened Bulgarians' interest in politics. Apathy has grown and turnout declined, while election campaigns are increasingly marred by propaganda and personal attacks.
Turnout went from 50% in the April 2021 vote to 33% in June — the lowest since the end of communist rule in 1989.
The caretaker cabinet must also appoint a new Bulgarian EU Commissioner by the deadline on Friday.
The GERB party has put forward former foreign minister Ekaterina Zaharieva. Other names being considered include the former chairman of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanishev and the incumbent Iliana Ivanova, who is favoured by Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission.