Bulgaria’s coalition government, led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, announced its resignation on Thursday in response to weeks of intensifying public unrest. The announcement came minutes before Parliament was set to vote on a no-confidence motion brought by the opposition. Although the motion failed to secure the necessary majority—garnering only 106 votes in the 240-seat parliament—Zhelyazkov chose to step down to acknowledge the public’s demands.
“Our desire is to rise to the level of what society expects,” Zhelyazkov stated regarding the decision. “At this moment, as the constitution dictates, power stems from the sovereign and the voice of the people. We hear the voice of the citizens protesting against the government.”
The resignation follows massive demonstrations on Wednesday, where tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets to oppose the administration’s economic policies, specifically the controversial 2026 draft budget which has since been withdrawn. This administration was sworn in on January 16 following snap elections in October 2024, which marked Bulgaria’s seventh parliamentary election in three and a half years.