site.btaUPDATED Zhelyazkov Cabinet Resigns

The Cabinet of Rosen Zhelyazkov announced its resignation Thursday. The resignation was announced by Prime Minister Zhelyazkov at an emergency press conference in Parliament as he stood in the company of senior officials of the three parties in the government coalition: GERB-UDF, There Is Such a People and BSP - United Left.

The announcement came as Parliament was about to vote a no-confidence motion against the government submitted by Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria. In the wider picture, the country is swept by massive anti-government protests that were triggered by the cabinet's controversial budget plans but escalated into discontent against the government over corruption, injustice and failure in many government sectors.

“The coalition discussed the situation,” Zhelyazkov said. “We have no doubt that in the upcoming vote of no confidence the government will receive support. Regardless of that, the decisions of the National Assembly matter when they reflect the will of the people,” the Prime Minister pointed out. “Our desire is to be at the level that society expects. Power derives from the sovereign and the voice of the people,” he said. 

According to him, whether civil society understands the challenges facing both itself and the government, as a function of that society, is another question that will be analyzed in the future.

“We consciously hear the voice of the citizens who are protesting, and that is why we must rise to the level of their demands — namely, the resignation of the government. Both young and old have raised their voices for it,” the Prime Minister said. “This civic energy must be supported and encouraged,” he added.

The Prime Minister called for safeguarding the achievements of democracy "for which people have fought over decades".

He went on to catalogue the accomplishments of his team. “This cabinet came as a function of a complex coalition between parties diverse in their political nature, but united by the goal and desire for Bulgaria to continue on its European path of development — to be part of those European countries for which the evolution of centuries has proven that they can build the most just and dignified union in the world: the European one. Part of that challenge — to rise to the occasion and be a leading European state — was to complete the entire cycle of our EU membership by entering the eurozone,” Zhelyazkov said. He added that they had promised macroeconomic stability and had delivered it, evidenced by the assessment that Bulgaria had met the Maastricht criteria.

“We promised and achieved unprecedented budget growth. We adopted and will implement the 2025 budget framework. We proposed a 2026 budget which, regardless of its contradictions and different comments, was a budget of social protection and of the benefits that Bulgarian citizens must have and retain in the coming year — including not only preserving purchasing power but increasing it,” the Prime Minister said.

According to him, none of this could be explained, or their political opponents could not understand it. He added that this was not a reproach to the protesters, because they understand that the protest was against overconfidence and arrogance — it was a protest of judgment about the way values, as understood in the democratic world, are upheld. “This is not a social protest, nor a protest against a political opponent’s policies, but against behavior and attitude. That is why it unites within itself diverse and ideologically different components of Bulgarian society,” Zhelyazkov believes.

He warned of "a major challenge ahead" as his government won't be the one to guide the country through the first months of 2026 after Bulgaria joins the eurozone from January 1. “It seems citizens are leaving this in the background, and that is why the protests and their demands must produce their authentic proposals for how governance should look during the transition to the elections and after the 2026 elections - what the profile of governance should be and how citizens’ rights should be protected. Citizens must state this to the leaders of the protest,” Zhelyazkov noted.

Shortly after Zhelyazkov's statement, the Cabinet press office said that the resignation has been submitted to Parliament's registry office. It will be put to the vote on Friday.

The Zhelyazkov Cabinet will continue to perform its functions until a new Cabinet lineup is elected.