site.btaPresident Radev Tenders His Resignation to Constitutional Court, Politicians React

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev tendered his resignation to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. He is now awaiting the court’s ruling. In an address to the nation on Monday, Radev announced that he was resigning the presidency. He is the only Bulgarian president so far to have left office before the expiry of his term.

Political leaders reacted to his actions and his potential participation in the next snap parliamentary elections.

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said that “the Presidency turned out to be the largest political base, funded by taxpayers’ money.” According to Georgiev, this has perhaps been the longest election campaign, lasting nine years - even though the president is constitutionally tasked with uniting the nation. The Foreign Minister said he has watched with concern over time a number of controversial moments in President Rumen Radev’s foreign policy stances.

GERB will not fight against Rumen Radev or his political entity, GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader Denitsa Sacheva told journalists on Tuesday. “GERB will leave Mr. Radev to fight reality,” she added. Asked under what conditions GERB would consider Radev or his potential political project as a partner, Sacheva said that they first need to see what the political project will look like and what its platform entails.

Commenting on whether Continue the Change (CC) could cooperate with Radev, CC Chair Assen Vassilev said that Radev will first have to answer whether he wants the country to be strong, to operate as within a strong Europe, or whether he wants the country to follow the "Orban model", referring to the government model implemented by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and to act as a Trojan horse within the EU.

Yes, Bulgaria Co-Chair Bozhidar Bozhanov said that Radev was "apparently stepping onto the party political terrain, leaving behind the comfort of the presidency, where he was able to choose which issues to take a position on and which to avoid."

Alliance for Rights and Freedoms’ honorary chair Ahmed Dogan announced that the party will support Rumen Radev. "You alone are the decisive factor in forming an anti-mafia front against our hijacked state! We, from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, are unreservedly with you," a post published on Tuesday on the party's Facebook page reads.