site.btaUPDATED Caretaker Prime Minister Gurov Meets with Students Who Protested against Zhelyazkov Cabinet

Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov met on Friday with representatives of the students who took part in the protests in December 2025 that ousted the government of prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. After the meeting, Gurov told a news briefing at the Council of Ministers that the discussion covered many topics and outlined specific measures that will be taken.

“For me, it was extremely important that one of the first official meetings I have is with the people whose voices are not heard - young people who do not vote and feel alienated from the civic process, who in recent months demonstrated their civic engagement and pointed out the things they disagree with,” Gurov said.

According to him, these people have hope, but they also have very high expectations. “Sometimes these expectations are very simple - respect for the law and adherence to the social contract, listening to the voices of the people and their expectations, and trust between institutions,” Gurov added.

Andrey Dimitrov, chair of the RED Association, said that several key problems were highlighted at the meeting. “The government has resigned, but the administration remain theirs. For this reason, we drew attention to the professional leadership of the Ministry of Interior, since in order to have fair elections, change is needed there,” he explained.

“I am optimistic about the caretaker government because the dialogue that took place today is a first step toward restoring trust in the institutions. The sense of justice in Bulgaria has fallen to critical levels. We hope that through dialogue and cooperation between the young people who took to the streets at the end of 2025 and the Council of Ministers, we will restore trust and lay the foundations for a developing Bulgarian society,” Dimitrov added.

Alexnder Tanev, founder of the Students Against the Mafia coalition, said that the time has finally come for those in power to hear citizens’ demands. “During the meeting, we mentioned our priorities. These include resolving the crisis in the judiciary, appointing a legitimate and lawful acting Prosecutor General, and taking action to address the crisis involving institutions that operate beyond the legally established mandates,” Tanev explained. He added that none of the young people present would be joining election candidate lists.

Vasilena Dimitrova of the initiative committee Future in Bulgaria explained that at the meeting they also presented proposals for the Ministry of Health that could be implemented within the framework of the caretaker government. These are measures that would send a signal to medical professionals that it makes sense to remain in Bulgaria and that this is the right choice, Dimitrova said.

“The meeting was extremely productive, and I am grateful to Andrey Gurov for giving us the opportunity to discuss potential ways to reduce the distance between citizens and institutions in order to increase civic engagement and voter turnout in the next elections,” said Ivaylo Madzharov, chair of the Active Policies Association. “It is important to say that the next elections may be the most important for Bulgaria, and there is a chance to increase voter turnout from 40% to 50%, or even more,” Madzharov added.