Thursday, December 11, 2025 -Bulgaria’s prime minister announced Thursday, December 11, that his government was resigning after less than a year in office following a series of anticorruption protests. Jeliazkov’s announcement came just ahead of a vote in parliament on a no confidence motion that the opposition had filed against the government.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across
Bulgaria on Wednesday, December 10, to protest against the government and
corruption, marking the latest mass demonstration since the end of last month.
The protests were triggered by a 2026 draft budget, which critics branded as an
attempt to mask rampant corruption. Although the government withdrew the budget
last week, public anger continued to swell.
“The government resigns today,” Bulgarian Prime Minister
Rossen Jeliazkov told reporters after a meeting of the ruling parties’ leaders.
“People of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and religions have spoken out in
favour of resignation. That is why this civic energy must be supported and
encouraged.”
The European Union’s poorest country is scheduled to join
the eurozone on January 1, and analysts say the resignation is unlikely to
derail the process. However, low public trust in Bulgarian institutions and
rising concerns about prices ahead of the currency shift have deepened unease.
“Bulgarian society is in a situation of very broad unity
against the country’s model of governance,” Dobromir Jeliazkov, director of the
Market Links sociological agency, told AFP. “Levels of trust in the Bulgarian
government and parliament remain close to historic lows, which is yet another
indicator of the severe political and institutional crisis the country is
facing,” he added.
Last week, President Rumen Radev openly backed the
protesters and urged the government to step down to make way for early
elections. On Wednesday, tens of thousands rallied outside the parliament
building in Sofia alone, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Demonstrators chanted “Resign” and raised signs reading “I’m fed up!” alongside
caricatures of politicians.
Shop worker Gergana Gelkova, 24, told AFP she joined the
protests because widespread corruption had become “intolerable.” Most of her
friends had already left Bulgaria and did not plan to return, she added.
Bulgaria ranks among the lowest EU members on Transparency
International’s Corruption Perception Index. The country has held seven snap
elections since massive anti graft protests in 2020 targeted the government of three-time
prime minister Boyko Borissov. Borissov’s conservative GERB party won the most
recent election last year, forming the coalition government that has now
resigned.
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