The political party "There Is Such a People" (TISP), currently the sixth-largest in the National Assembly, held consultations with President Rumen Radev regarding the formation of a new government. TISP had been part of the previous governing coalition under Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, together with GERB and “BSP – United Left.”

President Radev opened the meeting by thanking TISP for attending despite the ongoing political turbulence in parliament. “I am fully aware that the National Assembly is currently a more eventful place than these consultations. I appreciate your presence,” Radev said, inquiring about the party’s next political moves.

TISP representatives, however, stated that pursuing a new government reconfiguration within the 51st parliament would not be reasonable. Toshko Yordanov, speaking for TISP, highlighted that recent constitutional changes, pushed through by WCC-DB with GERB and Delyan Peevski’s DPS, created an unfavorable situation for their party. “We opposed these changes and challenged them twice in the Constitutional Court. Despite our efforts, this is the reality we face now,” he said.

On the budget, Yordanov clarified that only the extension budget would be voted on in parliament. He emphasized that the TISP’s initial parliamentary vote to include the previous budget as an item was intended to demonstrate to citizens who opposed it. “WCC-DB has tried to evade responsibility, using public protests as justification,” he added.

Regarding amendments to the Electoral Code, Yordanov criticized last-minute proposals aimed at influencing upcoming elections. He stressed that TISP had proposed changes earlier in a calm political environment, which had passed initial readings and committees, and called on other parties to support these reasonable proposals rather than adopting “patchwork” amendments close to elections.

Under Bulgarian procedure, President Radev will continue consultations with parliamentary groups before issuing three consecutive mandates to form a new government. The first mandate is given to the largest parliamentary group, GERB. If that attempt fails, the second mandate goes to WCC-DB, and the third is assigned to a formation of the president’s choice. Should all three efforts be unsuccessful, the president dissolves parliament, appoints a caretaker cabinet, and schedules new elections within two months.