Bulgarian President Quits During Political Crisis

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced on Monday that he is stepping down. In a televised address, the left-leaning leader said he will submit his resignation to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, the AP reports. Under the constitution, the vice president, Iliana Yotova, must be sworn in by parliament to hold the post until the end of the government's mandate. Radev did not say what his plans are, but recent statements suggest he plans to form a new party. "The battle for the future of our homeland lies ahead, and I believe we will face it together with all of you—the worthy, the inspired, and the unyielding. We are ready," he said in his address. "We can, and we will succeed."

The resignation is the first by a head of state in Bulgaria's post-communist history. The country has been struggling to overcome a prolonged political crisis. Large anti-corruption protests last month forced the resignation of the governing coalition, led by the center-right GERB party. Attempts to form a new government within the current parliament have subsequently failed, and the country is headed toward its eighth parliamentary election since 2021. Bulgaria belongs to the European Union and NATO.

Radev has repeatedly indicated he may take part in new elections. The 62-year-old former Air Force general has been a vocal opponent of the leader of the GERB party, Boyko Borissov, and of politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski, who has been under US and UK sanctions and whose MRF New Beginning party has repeatedly backed the outgoing GERB-led coalition. Asked recently about forming a new party, Radev said there was a need for a party that "unites all democrats—left and right—regardless of where they belong or whether they are politically active at all, because we all need fair elections and democratic, free development."