Assoc. Prof. Hristo Ormandzhiev, a constitutional law lecturer, said on Nova that Bulgaria’s Constitution does not set strict deadlines for consultations or for the appointment of a caretaker government. The speed of these procedures depends entirely on the discretion of the president.

Ormandzhiev noted that the head of state may choose whether to hold consultations with parliamentary groups separately or in a joint session. These consultations are followed by discussions with potential caretaker prime ministers from what is known as the “home book.” The Constitution does not stipulate fixed time frames for either of these stages.

“There is no deadline for issuing or returning a mandate. By definition, a caretaker government operates in a crisis context because parliament has failed to form a regular cabinet,” Ormandzhiev explained. He emphasized that consultations remain obligatory, even if the pool of potential caretaker prime ministers is small, and said it is considered ethically appropriate to meet with candidates.

Regarding early elections, Ormandzhiev said that predicting an exact date is challenging, but the earliest plausible timing would be after Easter, with April 19 appearing most likely. He added that it is improbable the vote would be scheduled during major Christian holidays.

Commenting on the outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s signing of Bulgaria’s accession to US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, Ormandzhiev said he was cautious in assessing whether this conflicted with the Constitution, as such a determination falls under the Constitutional Court’s authority. However, he highlighted that lecturers from Sofia University’s Department of International Law have suggested potential inconsistencies with EU principles and the UN Charter. He explained that “international organizations are generally governed collectively, not by a single individual, which raises certain questions.”

On the procedural aspects, Ormandzhiev confirmed that the decision was made at a closed session of the Council of Ministers. While he acknowledged that public communication about the process was limited, he does not believe that Bulgarian law was violated.