Bulgaria's President to Get Back Govt Mandate on Wednesday

The Reformist Bloc (RB) is set to return a mandate handed out by President Rosen Plevneliev to form a government, clearing the way for an early election this spring.

The RB, a loose alliance of centrist and right-wing parties, is the junior partner in the outgoing Bulgarian government.

The head of state chose it as a third party that may try to form a new cabinet without resorting to early elections after Boyko Borisov stepped down as Prime Minister last month.

However, talks between the RB and Borisov's GERB party collapsed on Tuesday.

A snap vote cannot take before the spring, and President Plevneliev will have to appoint a caretaker government, leaving it to his successor, Rumen Radev, to set a date for the election.