Bulgaria’s political turmoil deepened after President Rumen Radev unexpectedly declined to approve a new interim cabinet and said he would delay a snap election.

The Balkan nation is approaching its seventh such vote in less than four years, with political factions unable to establish a stable governing coalition. The crisis has hindered efforts to adopt the euro, delayed European Union recovery funding and postponed a number of administrative appointments.

Radev rejected a proposed interim cabinet lineup on Monday, saying that Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov wouldn’t be able to guarantee fair elections if he continued in that role. 

The minister has come under scrutiny across the political spectrum for his alleged ties with controversial lawmaker Delyan Peevski, who is sanctioned by the US for corruption. Stoyanov has denied having ties with the political world and calls the accusations attacks against him and his ministry. 

The next election will now be postponed until after Oct 20, Radev told Prime Minister-designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, saying that the choice of Stoyanov left her with “responsibility for a potential constitutional crisis”. 

A Nato-trained Air Force general, Radev has confronted criticism for taking stances echoing the Kremlin and for a reluctance to provide military aid to Ukraine. After appointing several interim governments unilaterally since 2021, political parties amended the constitution to reduce his powers, leaving him with fewer options to form caretaker administrations. 

Radev is now forced to pick an interim premier among several administrative figures, including the ombudsman, the head of the audit office and its deputies, the central bank management team and the parliamentary speaker. Most of them have already refused the job, and some are yet to be appointed by lawmakers, though the president urged parliament to speed up that process.

Polls suggest the next election is again unlikely to produce a stable majority, with a new vote possible in early 2025. Radev didn’t suggest an alternative date for the ballot, though he said he’d continue talks with other potential premiers to limit the turmoil.

  - Bloomberg