site.btaUPDATED Anti-Government Protest Held in Downtown Sofia
Citizens gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the government on Thursday evening. The demonstration, which was registered with Sofia Municipality, was organized by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) under the slogan "Don’t Feed the Pig with Your Money, Vol. 3." It was the latest in a series of protests organized by CC-DB, with the first two being against the proposed budget for 2026, and the most recent one demanding the resignation of the government.
Protesters gathered in the area between the President’s Administration and the Bulgarian National Bank. A heightened police presence was in place around the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers, while traffic on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard was closed.
A stage with a video wall was set up in front of the President’s Administration, with another video wall installed in front of the Council of Ministers. Footage from previous protests was broadcast, along with statements by GERB leader Boyko Borissov, Movement for Rights and Freedoms–New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski, There Is Such a People (TISP) Floor Leader Toshko Yordanov, and various influencers. Slogans such as "In support of machine voting," "Don’t feed the pig [i.e. Peevski]," "Sarafov out," and "Slavchev out" were projected onto the facades of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers buildings. "Sarafov" refers to acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov, and "Slavchev" refers to Anti-Corruption Commission chief Anton Slavchev.
The protest was triggered after it emerged shortly before 10 a.m. on Wednesday that Parliament would consider, at first reading, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Budget Bill and the State Budget Bill for 2026. Shortly afterward, GERB–UDF and TISP announced they would support only the budget extension bill. MPs re-voted and rejected the proposal to include the two budget bills on the agenda. Later, Parliament adopted the budget extension bill at second reading, providing for a one-off indexation of wages in the amount of the accumulated annual inflation as of December 31, 2025. "It is clear that without protests, these people get carried away, trying to push through their thieving budget again," CC-DB's Assen Vassilev said on Wednesday. After MPs rejected the proposal to discuss the draft NHIF budget and the 2026 State Budget Bill, CC-DB's Ivaylo Mirchev said that "they were obviously frightened by the protest we organized, and Peevski's ruling coalition [...] immediately voted in the opposite direction."
Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov, Director of the Sofia Directorate of Interior, said that some 20 checkpoints would be set up in the so-called Power Triangle - where the National Assembly is flanked by the President's Administration and the Council of Ministers - during Thursday’s demonstration, as was the case during the previous protest.
Addressing the crowd, Bozhidar Bozhanov, Co-Chair of Yes, Bulgaria, part of Democratic Bulgaria, said that the government is afraid of fair and free elections. "That is why we will fight for machine voting. Peevski must remain just an electoral dwarf in the next elections," he added.
Assen Vassilev also addressed the protesters from the stage.
During the demonstration, participants were called on to volunteer in the event of possible snap elections next year to help safeguard the integrity of the vote.
A separate protest calling for an independent judiciary, organized by the Justice for All initiative and starting at the Palace of Justice, later merged with the anti-government demonstration. Lawyer Velislav Velichkov, chair of Justice for All, spoke about the need to amend the Election Code to ensure that machine voting is fully reinstated. He also called for the resignations of Slavchev and Sarafov.
The combined protest concluded with a performance of the Bulgarian national anthem, with organizers announcing that no march would take place.
Anti-government demonstrations were also held in other cities across Bulgaria on Thursday.
/RY/
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