site.btaCC Leader Vassilev Calls Government's Resignation First Step in Making Bulgaria Normal European State

The government's resignation is the first step in making Bulgaria a normal European state, said Continue the Change (CC) leader Assen Vassilev in a statement in the National Assembly on Thursday minutes after Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced that the government was stepping down.

The CC belongs to the CC-DB coalition, which organized a wave of mass anti-government rallies in Sofia and other cities in recent days. The protests were sparked by political and public discontent with the government-proposed budgets for 2026 and involved calls for the government to resign.

"The next step along this path is to conduct fair and free elections rather than elections compromised by vote manipulation as in the previous campaign," Vassilev said.

DB's Ivaylo Mirchev commented: "The resignation of the government, in addition to being a victory for Bulgaria, is a victory for all those wonderful people who came out to protest across the country," said Mirchev, who is co-leader of Yes, Bulgaria, a member of the DB alliance in the CC-DB coalition.

He said: "We will not participate in any configuration in this National Assembly. Bulgaria needs to hold elections, which should be conducted according to clear and fair rules, with the Interior Ministry working adequately."