Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and his government resigned on December 11 following some of the largest protests in modern Bulgaria's history over a 2026 budget that would see taxes hiked and social-security contributions raised by a government many Bulgarians view as corrupt.
Zhelyazkov made the announcement in a televised statement in Sofia just ahead of a no-confidence vote was set to take place in parliament.
"The government resigns today," he said after a meeting of ruling party leaders.
The decision comes after several major protests sparked by anger against the government budget plans for 2026 broadened to include disenchantment over the government's economic policies in general and a failure to eliminate corruption.
Transparency International ranks Bulgaria, which is set to adopt the euro on January 1, as the second-most corrupt country in the European Union, only behind Hungary. Bulgaria is the EU's poorest country, according to the bloc's statistics office.
It is also one of the bloc's most politically unstable members. Bulgarians have headed to the polls seven times since 2021 to elect a parliament that has been hamstrung by a series of unstable coalitions led by multiple centrist and right-wing parties.
Tens of thousands gathered in Sofia and other cities late on December 10 chanting "Resign! Resign! Resign!" and "Mafia get out!" outside of parliament. The protests were mainly peaceful.
"I hope very, very, very strongly that this wave will turn into a much higher voter turnout which will change the kind of government we have," one protester told RFE/RL during the demonstration.
It was not clear if the country would head into fresh elections, which would be the eighth in the past four years.
Zhelyazkov headed a coalition government that was appointed in January after tough negotiations followed an October 2024 vote that did little to solve the deeply fractured makeup of parliament.
With the past four years defined by political paralysis and reforms never getting off the ground, money from the European Union has almost dried up.
