The main political parties in Bulgaria have reached an agreement on Friday (June 28) that early Parliamentary elections should be held on October 5, 2014. It is interesting to note that the chosen date coincides with the Muslim feast Ramadan Bayram. However, it is one of the three dates (between September 28 and October 12) agreed earlier at the Consultative Council for National Security hosted by Bulgaria’s President Rossen Plevneliev ten days ago. Thus, the country has stepped on the road to the long-awaited early general elections as the wisest way out from a political crisis that has been going on in Bulgaria for the past one year.

Of course, the parties can still use given procedures to delay the early elections. However, the financial and banking crisis which is on the country’s doorsteps, as a result of the political crisis, gives almost no possibility for such a scenario. If Bulgaria’s Premier Plamen Oresharski takes the political consensus between the main political parties and the stand of the mandate holder- the Bulgarian Socialist Party into consideration, he should hand in his resignation on August 5 at the latest. Thus, the country will meet the terms set by the Bulgarian Constitution regarding the cancellation of the mandate of the current government two months prior early elections and the head of state will be able to appoint interim cabinet for a period of two months, whose task will be to prepare the next early Parliamentary elections. For the purpose, the political parties have to keep their promise to refrain from forming any new cabinet within the current 42^nd National Assembly, because the Bulgarian people have witnessed various political U-turns and surprises over the past weeks including the field of the Bulgarian prosecution and banking sector which go beyond any sensible logics.

The leaders of the biggest political parties-GERB, BSP and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms decided on Friday to give a mandate to National Assembly President Mihail Mikov to propose to Bulgaria’s President Plevneliev to summon new political consultations, so the political leaders can define there the urgent legislative acts that have to be adopted by the current National Assembly and government by end July. They also declared that they would support all measures taken by the state authorities and institutions to guarantee the stability of the Bulgarian banking system. It is again President Plevneliev’s turn to act.