Sofia, 2 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) – Bulgarians are set to head to the polls on April 2 in the natin's fifth elections in two years, following repeated failed attempts to put a governing coalition together. President Rumen Radev signed the relevant order on Thursday, his office announced in Sofia.

Parliament was simultaneously dissolved, with Vezhdi Rashidov, chairman of the national assembly, declaring its mandate terminated. Government business is to be conducted by a transitional Cabinet.

Three attempts to form a government have failed since the last elections in October, which put seven parties into parliament. Attempts led by the centre-right GERB, which emerged the largest party, the liberal PP, and finally the Socialists all failed to secure a majority.

"It was a parliament of limited options," Andrei Gyurov, the head of the PP, which headed the last government, said on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, Radev confirmed that the Cabinet appointed at the beginning of August last year would continue in office almost unchanged, apart from a new minister for culture.

Radev has repeatedly warned that fresh elections would jeopardize Bulgaria's application to join the Schengen Area that permits free travel across much of Europe, as well as the implementation of a European Union reconstruction programme.

Aims for Bulgaria to join the eurozone in 2024 are also seen as being at risk.