Bulgaria's election winner Rumen Radev receives mandate to form government

Bulgaria's President Iliana Iotova offered election ​winner Rumen Radev the mandate to form ‌a new government as prime minister on Thursday after his Progressive Bulgaria comfortably won a parliamentary election last month, the eighth ​in five years, Report informs via Reuters.

The eurosceptic former fighter pilot's ​party won 44.6% of the vote in the parliamentary ⁠election on April 19, giving it a majority ​of seats in the 240-seat legislature.

After receiving the mandate, ​Radev outlined his future cabinet, which is expected to be approved by the parliament on Friday.

Radev stepped down from Bulgaria's largely ​ceremonial presidency in January to run in the ​April parliamentary election after mass protests over corruption and rising ‌living ⁠costs forced out the previous government in December.

PB's victory, the single biggest vote haul in a generation, will enable Radev to head Bulgaria's first single-party government ​in nearly three ​decades, a ⁠boost to political stability after repeated elections.

Velislava Petrova-Chamova and Galab Donev will take ​over as foreign and finance ministers in ​the ⁠new cabinet, which will have to swiftly pass a new budget, set a debt ceiling to ensure payments ⁠for ​pensions and salaries and recover ​missed EU funds.