Bulgaria's upcoming elections have been postponed following President Rumen Radev's refusal to sign the decree for the new caretaker government. This decision means that the elections, initially scheduled for October 20, will be delayed.

The primary reason for this postponement is the inclusion of Kalin Stoyanov as the Minister of Internal Affairs in Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva's proposed cabinet. President Radev had given Grancharova until 3 p.m. to replace Stoyanov, but she insisted on his retention, leading Radev to declare that the caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev will continue its duties for now.

During their meeting, Radev criticized the current state of political instability in Bulgaria and emphasized the need for dialogue between governing institutions to alleviate tensions. Grancharova, who is nominated as the acting prime minister, had hoped to address this instability with her cabinet, which she believes will provide continuity and stability.

Grancharova presented the structure of her proposed cabinet to President Radev, which includes herself as Prime Minister and the following ministers:

• Lyudmila Petkova as Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs and Minister of Finance
• Rosen Karadimov as Deputy Prime Minister for Civil Society Affairs and Minister of Innovation and Growth
• Kalin Stoyanov as Minister of Internal Affairs
• Violeta Koritarova as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works
• Ivaylo Ivanov as Minister of Labor and Social Policy
• Atanas Zapryanov as Minister of Defense
• Ivan Kondov as Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Maria Pavlova as Minister of Justice
• Galin Tsokov as Minister of Education and Science
• Petko Stefanovski as Minister of Health
• Nayden Todorov as Minister of Culture
• Viktor Atanasov as Minister of Environment and Water
• Georgi Tahov as Minister of Agriculture and Food
• Valeri Borisov as Minister of Transport and Communications
• Petko Nikolov as Minister of Economy and Industry
• Vladimir Malinov as Minister of Energy
• Valentin Mundrov as Minister of Electronic Government
• Evtim Miloshev as Minister of Tourism
• Georgi Glushkov as Minister of Youth and Sports

Grancharova has stated that maintaining most of the current ministers will help address Bulgaria's political instability and ensure continuity in governance.

"Actions are needed from today, that's why I decided to leave the main part of the ministers because they are trusted. At the slightest doubt about their integrity, I will take action. We will work in two directions - following the Euro-Atlantic path and holding fair elections". This was stated by the candidate for acting prime minister, Gortsa Kozhareva, at the presentation of the composition of the new Council of Ministers to the president.

Before presenting her cabinet, Kozhareva stated what her goals were. "I had 10 days to form a caretaker cabinet that would ensure continuity in management until the election of a new government, but above all to organize fair parliamentary elections. The political instability in Bulgaria has not been overcome. It is important to find dialogue and openness today. Respect is very important in such work to achieve a result in any state institution. I believe that the observance of the constitutional principle of separation of powers will reduce the tension. It is important to restore the trust in the society. The frequent change of governments demotivates the administration instability," she added.

The role of the Minister of the Interior became the focal point of controversy. "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) expressed a lack of confidence in Kalin Stoyanov, who in turn accused the coalition of trying to interfere with ministerial duties. Stoyanov also claimed there was significant "political pressure" on Grancharova to ensure he would not remain in his position.

In response, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs participated in two protests to support Stoyanov. During the second protest, Kozhareva met Stoyanov for a second time. He was the only minister to have met with the acting prime minister nominee twice.

According to Article 99, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, on August 9, the Head of State appointed the Deputy Chairman of the Audit Chamber as acting Prime Minister and tasked her with proposing the composition of a caretaker cabinet. She had until today for the president to schedule early parliamentary elections for October 20.

The government of Dimitar Glavchev will continue its duties, as announced by the president.