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Bulgarian PM Zhelyazkov Resigns Ahead of No-Confidence Vote After Mass Protests

Euro adoption planned for January is expected to proceed despite the cabinet moving into caretaker mode.

Overview

  • Rosen Zhelyazkov announced his government's resignation just before a scheduled seventh no-confidence vote this year, saying parliamentary decisions must reflect the people's will.
  • He said he had no doubt the cabinet would have survived the vote, framing the decision as a response to sustained public mobilization.
  • Weeks of demonstrations that began over budget provisions grew into the largest anti-corruption protests in years, drawing tens of thousands in Sofia and spreading to Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas.
  • Protesters chanted for the removal of power brokers Delian Peevski and Boyko Borissov, as students marched from Sofia University to Independence Square.
  • The ousted minority coalition of GERB, BSP and ITN had relied on external support from DPS‑NN, and President Rumen Radev will now consult parties on forming a new cabinet with the option to appoint an interim administration if talks fail.