SOFIA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova on Thursday scheduled early parliamentary elections for April 19, her press office said in a statement.

Rumen Radev (L) communicates with Iliana Iotova outside the presidential building in Sofia, Bulgaria, Jan. 23, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

"President Iliana Iotova signed a decree appointing a caretaker government with caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov," the statement said.

Iotova appointed Gurov as a caretaker prime minister-designate and asked him to propose the lineup of a caretaker government last week, after the coalition government led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned in December 2025 and parliamentary parties subsequently failed to elect a new government.

Under the country's Constitution, the president, acting on a motion by the caretaker prime minister-designate, is obliged to appoint a caretaker cabinet, and schedule new elections within two months.