The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) will hand back the mandate for the formation of a government as soon as they receive it from President Rumen Radev on 5 May, the BSP’s leadership and its parliamentary group decided at the meeting of the party's National Council.

The first and the second political force in parliament – GERB and ITN (There Is such a People) - also returned the mandate, thus refusing to try to form a government.

“At the latest elections many of the voters saw in ITN an opportunity for change,” said BSP leader Kornelia Ninova, and added that the party had reached out to most of the parliamentary forces but that this gesture had been rejected. That is why the Bulgarian Socialist Party is going to hand back the mandate and give the President a chance to appoint a caretaker cabinet made up of honest people of integrity to guide the country through the crisis until the snap elections, Kornelia Ninova said.