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Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev said on Monday that he will resign before snap elections expected in the coming months, adding to the political crisis in the European Union and NATO member state.
Bulgaria, which adopted the euro on January 1, has been in political turmoil after large anti-corruption protests forced a conservative-led government to resign in mid-December.
Radev, a critic of the government who supported the protests, said last week that early elections would be held after political parties failed to form a new government. The vote will be Bulgaria’s eighth national election in five years.
“Today, I am addressing you for the last time as president of Bulgaria,” Radev said in a televised speech.
He said he would step down on Tuesday.
Radev, 62, said “pernicious model of governance” was to blame for poverty, protests and a loss of trust in state institutions. He also said he wants to take part in shaping Bulgaria’s future and uniting people against corruption.
His resignation is the first by a Bulgarian head of state since the end of communism. There is growing speculation that Radev may run in the upcoming election.
Vice President Iliana Iotova is expected to serve as interim president. A caretaker government will be appointed, and elections are expected in late March or April. Radev’s term was due to end early next year.
A former Air Force pilot, Radev was first elected president in 2016 and won a second term in 2021 with nearly 67 per cent of the vote.
Bulgaria has faced repeated elections and unstable governments since anti-corruption protests in 2020. The country ranks among the lowest in the EU on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
