Bulgaria President to Give Mandate to GERB Party on Monday

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev said he will hand down on Monday the mandate for forming a new government to the biggest party in parliament – center-right GERB.

His statement came shortly after parliament accepted Thursday the resignation handed by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his cabinet.

"I will start talks with all parliamentary groups together as early as Friday. Why together? So that there isn't even a shadow of doubt that some behind-the-curtain coalitions have been formed in the presidency," Rosen Plevneliev told the nation in a keenly awaited speech.

A total of 209 lawmakers voted in favor of the proposed resignation, while 5 were against and 1 abstained from voting.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov made the shocking announcement Wednesday that his cabinet is to resign en masse around noon. The move follows a tumultuous week of public anger over rising electricity prices, corruption and austerity measures that ignited mass protests nationwide.

Borissov told MPs on Wednesday that his party would not be part of a caretaker government.

Twenty-five people were taken to hospital and fourteen were injured after protesters clashed with police late on Tuesday. The Prime Minister stated that the threats of turning the massive protests bloody made him announce the resignation

If all parties in the Bulgarian Parliament decline to appoint a new cabinet, President Rosen Plevneliev must appoint a caretaker government, and then, with one single decree, adjourn the Parliament and schedule a new general election no later than two months after the termination of the powers of the last government.