SOFIA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The GERB party, the largest party in Bulgarian parliament, on Friday refused the president's offer to form a new government, increasing the likelihood of early parliamentary elections.
On Friday, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev appointed GERB party leader Boyko Borissov as Prime Minister-designate to form a government, but Borissov immediately returned the mandate.
Should a Prime Minister-designate nominated by the second largest parliamentary group, BSP Left Bulgaria, also fail to form a government, Plevneliev shall entrust the task to one of the minor parliamentary groups.
Under the Bulgarian Constitution, if the parties in the parliament fail to form a new cabinet after the three attempts, the president shall appoint a caretaker government. If that's the case, early parliamentary elections would be held in late March or early April 2017.
The GERB party-led coalition government resigned in mid-November after the opposition-backed candidate Rumen Radev won the presidential election in the Balkan country.
