Bulgaria's president elect says to dissolve parliament in a week's time

Record ID: 164863

  • Title: Bulgaria's president elect says to dissolve parliament in a week's time
  • Date: 19th January 2017
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) RUMEN RADEV, NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT, SAYING: "My creed is: Few words, but efficient action. You have one more week." AMBASSADORS AND GUESTS WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) RUMEN RADEV, NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT, SAYING: "I will be the president of all Bulgarians, regardless of their party affiliation, religion and ethnicity. I will defend political detachment and oppose attempts at polarizing our society." PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) RUMEN RADEV, NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT, SAYING: "Bulgaria must insist on a revision of the Dublin regulation, which turns peripheral states into buffer zones." DEPUTIES APPLAUDING MEDIA EXTERIOR OF PARLIAMENT IN SNOWY WEATHER
  • Embargoed: 2nd February 2017 11:52
  • Keywords: Bulgaria president Rumen Radev
  • Location: SOFIA, BULGARIA
  • City: SOFIA, BULGARIA
  • Country: Bulgaria
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0035ZQY1X5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Bulgaria's President-elect Rumen Radev, whose overwhelming victory at presidential polls in November triggered the collapse of the centre-right government, said on Thursday (January 19) he would dissolve the parliament in a week's time.
    Radev, a former air force commander and a newcomer to politics, was sworn in on Thursday and takes up his post on Sunday.
    One of his first tasks is to dissolve parliament, appoint an interim administration and call early elections.
    "You have one more week," he told lawmakers, indicating that the election was likely to be held on March 26.
    Analysts have warned of prolonged political instability as the election is unlikely to produce a majority government able to implement the judicial, economic and other reforms the country needs.
    The Balkan country has been in political limbo since centre-right Prime Minister Boiko Borisov resigned following the victory of Rumen Radev, a Russia-friendly candidate backed by the opposition Socialists, in a November presidential election.
    The populist, anti-establishment upset follows a trend sweeping Europe after last June's Brexit vote in Britain.
    Bulgaria said it aimed to capitalize on voters' disenchantment with a corruption-tainted political establishment in the Black Sea state, which is likely to have its seventh government in the past four years this spring.
    The European Union member country is likely to once again end up with a fragmented assembly that will struggle to form a stable coalition capable of implementing reforms, political analysts have said.
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