MPs Debate No-confidence Motion against Zhelyazkov Cabinet

MP Bozhidar Bozhanov presenting the reasoning for a no-confidence motion against the Zhelyazkov Cabinet. The government ministers attended (sat on the left), Sofia, December 10, 2025 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

10.12.2025 16:05

(BTA)

Bulgaria’s National Assembly Wednesday debated a draft decision on a motion of no confidence against the Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, over what the opposition describes as the government’s failure in economic policy that has triggered some of the largest protests in the country.

The debate is scheduled to be put to a vote at 1:30 PM on Thursday.

The debate on the motion, tabled by 61 MPs from Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, and Morality, Unity, Honour, was the first item on the draft agenda of the legislature and ended about an hour after noon.

A protest demanding the government’s resignation was scheduled by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria for the evening after the no-confidence debate. Separate protests will be held by students in Sofia, as well as demonstrations around the country.

It will be the sixth motion against the current government.

Ahead of the debate, GERB-UDF Floor Leader and GERB Chair Boyko Borissov told reporters that Bulgaria’s entry into the euro area is a geostrategic task that he wants to see through to the end. He said he had informed all partners of this position in recent days and added that the ruling coalition would remain consolidated in the coming period, not out of stubbornness, but to ensure the country’s accession to the euro area.

Borissov stressed that the GERB-UDF coalition joined the government specifically to steer Bulgaria toward eurozone membership and said he would not allow anything that could compromise that goal before every Bulgarian is able to withdraw money from an ATM in euros. He described the country as being “20 metres from the finish line”, referring to January 1, 2026, as the target date, and said he would speak about resignations and protests only after that.

Continue the Change leader Assen Vassilev said that Bulgaria will join the Eurozone even if the government has resigned. “As the saying goes: ‘The sun will rise even if the rooster doesn't crow,’ so this government should just resign,” the MP added.

MP Bozhidar Bozhanov (CC-DB) said that he and his coalition partners expect the motion to be backed by everyone who still has “a bit of political instinct”, because people in the squares across the country have said one thing – “Resign!”. He described the motion as “the no-confidence motion of the protest”.

Presenting the motives for the no-confidence motion, Bozhidar Bozhanov said that the motion was filed because, under the command of MRF – New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski, the ruling parties are pushing the country toward an economic abyss. In his words, the draft 2026 state budget and the arrogant behaviour of those in power were the final straw for broad social groups. “Resignation is necessary, because the country’s economy cannot be a victim of Peevski’s boundless appetite for power and [GERB Chair Boyko] Borissov’s boundless fear because of his own sins,” Bozhanov said. According to him, the parties that supposedly form the governing coalition have no real say, because they are afraid and dependent.

According to Aleksandar Ivanov MP of GERB-UDF, 80% of the reasons for the no-confidence motion “have lost purpose between last Friday and the tabling of the revised draft budget this Monday”. Ivanov specified that most of the reasons are no longer justified because the government pulled out the budget bill that triggered the protests, and dropped plans to raise taxes and to increase the administrative burden by obliging retailers to start using a certain type of sales management software. He claimed that the sixth motion of no confidence in the incumbent executive only seeks to destabilize the Government and the State.

Manol Peykov MP of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria answered that they propose that a parliamentary Energy Committee meeting should take more than 28 seconds, that the Budget and Finance Committee should not meet during a plenary sitting recess, and that MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski should no longer be guarded by the National Service for Protection. "If the Government falls, the credit will be entirely yours, not ours, because people are protesting against your crazy budget, but above all they are protesting against your unabated arrogance and your self-indulgence," he pointed out.

Georgi Hrisimirov MP of Vazrazhdane commented that some of the opposition's proposals have been included in the budget bill before it comes up for a second reading before the full house. He asked Ivanov why he omitted to say that BGN 420 million of the second RRP payment had been withheld because Bulgaria has not met one of the conditions: to reform the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). "Your initial intention was supposed to be an independent election of the ACC members, but Delyan Peevski then suddenly decided that this procedure should be halted and a bill on the closure of the Commission should be introduced, which is why these BGN 420 million are paused," the Vazrazhdane MP commented further.

Tsoncho Ganev MP of Vazrazhdane said that Bulgaria must open up to Chinese investments.

As she catalogued the government's accomplishments, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said she would wish every government that, in the first 11 months of its term in office, it achieves for Bulgaria what her government has managed to do.

Addressing CC-DB, which shared a government with GERB in 2023-2024 led by CC's Nikolay Denkov as prime minister, Petkova said: “You left behind ministries in ruins and destroyed public finances.” She reported that over the past 11 months, her government has completed several important tasks for the country, including the adoption of the State Budget Act for 2025, renegotiated the Recovery and Resilience Plan and “corrected errors committed over the last four years”. She went on to outline the government’s vision regarding public debt.

The Finance Minister and Education Minister Krasimir Valchev entered into a dispute with CC-DB’s Assen Vassilev over funding for education, science, culture, sports, and healthcare in next year’s draft budget and in the three-year budget forecast.

Commenting on the debate, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov told reporters in Parliament that the best possible scenario would be to have the government resign as soon as possible. Kostadinov believes that a resignation is possible in January 2026.

/NF/