site.btaUPDATED Continue the Change: Our Promise to Voters Was No Coalition with MRF, GERB

Continue the Change co-chairman Kiril Petkov told reporters after the end of Election Day on Sunday: "We promised voters we would not coalesce with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and GERB. We as politicians promise this will not be done."

The most important thing is that the political force which has won the public's confidence should form a cabinet, said the other co-chairman, Assen Vassilev. He recalled that if the votes abroad are factored in, Continue the Change lost by 3 points to GERB now, after winning the November 14, 2021 elections with a 3-point lead on GERB. This gives GERB and the MRF a clear mandate to form a coalition and run the country, Vassilev added.

Continue the Change wants Bulgaria to be a European country with a socially oriented budget, which keeps raising pensions, the minimum wage and people's incomes, and stops money being channelled non-transparently to specific companies. "We will stand up for this through all instruments at our disposal in Parliament," said Vassilev, and wished GERB success in forming a government because "their success is a success for all Bulgarians".

Without a stable government all Bulgarians will suffer during the coming difficult winter, regardless of who they voted for. "We strongly disagree with the way GERB ran the country, but the Bulgarians had their say," Vassilev said. He noted that Continue the Change and GERB have fundamental differences about the way Bulgaria should be governed.

"We believe Bulgaria should set off on an altogether different path. Voters chose GERB and Continue the Change's 60 MPs cannot stop the formation of a coalition in the 240-seat parliament," Vassilev said, taking a question about the party's refusal to enter a coalition [with GERB and MRF]. "For us, the point is to stand up for the choice and values we offer the Bulgarian citizens."

Kiril Petkov said Continue the Change wants to acknowledge the voters' choice, which made GERB the largest parliamentary force. "Eight months ago, when we had just 67 MPs, we formed a government, although it was a very difficult coalition. It is their turn now, the people mandated them."

Taking a question from BTA, Petkov warned that there is no such thing as an "expert cabinet" - each cabinet is political as it is supported by political parties. He added that Continue the Change will be a constructive opposition and will see to it that each lev spent by the government is spent in the most transparent manner possible.