Bulgarian government resigns after mass anti-corruption protests

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned on Thursday after tens of thousands of Bulgarians joined protests across the country the night before, demanding that the government step down over allegations of widespread corruption.

"We hear the voice of the citizens, we must rise to the demands. Both the young and the old raised their voices in favour of the resignation. This civic position must be encouraged," Zhelyazkov said, announcing his cabinet's resignation at an extraordinary session in the National Assembly.

"However, a challenge lies ahead, the protests must convey what the profile of the government should be from this moment on," he added.

"Citizens must demand this from the leaders of the protest, this is a call for a government that builds on the achievements of the previous ones, but through a good transition."

On Wednesday in Sofia, protesters gathered on a central square near the parliament, government and presidency buildings.

Protesters used lasers to project the words "Resignation", "Mafia Out" and "For Fair Elections" on the parliament building, according to reports.

Media estimates based on drone footage put the number of demonstrators at over 100,000, with some reports claiming up to 150,000 people had gathered in the Bulgarian capital.

Students from Sofia's universities joined the rallies, which organisers said exceeded last week's protests that drew more than 50,000 people.

Further protests took place in more than 25 major cities across Bulgaria, including Plovdiv, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo and Razgrad.

In Plovdiv, several thousand people gathered at Saedinenie Square, waving large Bulgarian flags and raising anti-government posters.

A protest was also held in Burgas, where nearly 10,000 gathered in front of the municipality building and presented their demands with sketches and videos projected on a video wall.

Bulgarians abroad also gathered on Wednesday, with demonstrations held in Brussels, London, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich and New York.

The demands include the resignation of the government and better living and working conditions.

The demonstrations follow last week's gatherings sparked by the government's 2026 budget proposals, which included higher taxes, increased social security contributions and spending rises.

The government subsequently withdrew the controversial budget plan.

Concerns over oligarch influence

Protesters have focused their anger on Delyan Peevski, a Bulgarian politician and oligarch whose Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party supports the minority coalition government.

Peevski was sanctioned in June 2021 by the US under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for corruption, with the US Treasury Department stating he "regularly engaged in corruption, using influence peddling and bribes to protect himself from public scrutiny and exert control over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society".

The UK also imposed sanctions on Peevski in February 2023.

Peevski previously owned the most popular daily newspapers in Bulgaria and controlled a significant part of the media landscape before offloading media assets following the US sanctions.

Reporters Without Borders said in 2018 that Peevski embodied the "corruption and collusion between media, politicians, and oligarchs."

Opponents accuse Peevski of shaping government policy to serve oligarchic interests. Critics contend that real influence is shared between former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Peevski, reinforcing the perception that Peevski exerts significant leverage over the cabinet.

Borissov has served as Bulgaria's premier three times since 2009, leading the centre-right GERB party. He resigned in February 2013 following nationwide protests over energy costs and corruption, and his government fell again in 2020-2021 after anti-corruption demonstrations.

Opponents accuse Peevski of shaping government policy to serve oligarchic interests. Although DPS is not officially part of the governing coalition, its votes in parliament are crucial, and those demanding his resignation claim this allows him to control all the decision-making in the country.

Organisers displayed symbolic props including a large yellow sofa labelled "Divan, Divan", a play on the name of Peevski's MP Bayram Bayram — in Bulgarian, divan means sofa — while also urging There Is Such a People (ITN) party leader Slavi Trifonov to withdraw support for the government.

'Vote of no confidence in the cabinet'

Although the protest was largely peaceful, 57 people were detained in Sofia, Euronews Bulgaria reported.

Aggressive youths were arrested in front of the MRF headquarters, according to Sofia police chief Lyubomir Nikolov. Police, who said these were provocateurs and not actual demonstrators, found 10,000 lev (€5,100) on one of the detainees, and about €1,500 on another.

The opposition coalition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria called for a no-confidence vote in the government on Wednesday.

The vote, the sixth such motion by the opposition, was set to take place on Thursday. However, Zhelyazkov announced his resignation right before the vote, noting that he believed his cabinet would have survived it.

President Rumen Radev from the political left wrote on Facebook that Wednesday's demonstrations were effectively a vote of "no confidence in the cabinet".

He urged lawmakers to "listen to the people" and to "choose between the dignity of free voting and the shame of dependence" when they vote on Thursday.

Bulgaria is set to become the 21st member of the eurozone on 1 January, switching from its national currency the lev to the euro.

A survey published in June, commissioned by Bulgaria's Ministry of Finance, showed that 46.8% of citizens opposed the single European currency, whilst 46.5% favoured it.