US EditionTens of thousands join anti-government protests across Bulgaria
Over 100,000 protesters demanded resignation over corruption and a divisive 2026 budget that included tax hikes and social-security increases, officials said.
- On Thursday, Bulgaria's government resigned minutes before parliament was due to vote on a no-confidence motion, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said.
- The protests were driven by a contested 2026 draft budget protesters said masked rampant corruption, and anger focused on Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's minority centre-right government and Bulgarian politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski.
- Media estimates based on drone visuals put turnout in Sofia at over 100,000, with students from Sofia's universities swelling crowds and organisers saying this week's rallies outnumbered last week's 50,000 turnout.
- President Rumen Radev must now invite parties to form a new government and could appoint a caretaker government if they fail, while a no-confidence vote set for Thursday is expected to proceed.
- With Bulgaria due to join the eurozone on Jan. 1, analysts say low trust in institutions and rising price concerns have amplified public anger amid a history of anti-graft unrest and seven snap elections.
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148 Articles
The wave of protests started last week after the government presented its budget proposal for next year.
Political turbulence three weeks after the entry of Europe's poorest country into the euro area: "Hearing the voice of society"
After mass protests, Bulgaria's Prime Minister announces the resignation of his government. Many Bulgarians accuse the government of corruption. The country introduces the euro on 1 January 2026.
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rosen Zheliazkov, presented this Thursday his resignation and that of his cabinet...
Several tens of thousands of people had protested against Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov accused of corruption, who announced on Thursday 11 December that he had left power after arriving there last January.
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