Bulgarian president names senior central banker as caretaker PM to prepare way for election

SOFIA, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's president nominated the deputy governor of the central bank on Wednesday as acting prime minister, opening the ?way for the formation of ?a caretaker government that will organise another snap parliamentary election.

The ?previous government resigned on December 11 after ?weeks of street protests over its ?economic policies ?and perceived failure to tackle corruption. No date has yet ?been set for the ?snap election, which will be the eighth in just five years for the ?EU and NATO member ?state ?amid deep political divisions.

Further complicating the picture, President Rumen Radev also resigned last month, handing ?over his largely ceremonial role to Vice ?President Iliana Iotova, who became Bulgaria's first female head of state. Radev is expected to set up a new party.

President Iotova has ?picked ?Andrey Gyurov, deputy governor of the ?Bulgarian National Bank, to head a caretaker government ?tasked with preparing the way for another parliamentary election, her office said in a statement.

Iotova has previously suggested the election could take place in mid- to late-April.

Bulgaria, which joined the euro zone on January ?1, has faced prolonged political instability, with parties unable to form stable ruling coalitions in ?a fragmented parliament.

(Reporting by ?Stoyan Nenov; Writing by Angeliki KoutantouEditing ?by Gareth Jones)