Bulgaria’s President Radev resigns, fuelling speculation of new political party

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev will resign, he said in a speech on Monday, stoking widespread speculation that he will form his own political party to run in upcoming parliamentary elections after the previous government resigned last month.

Radev, who was supposed to hold the largely ceremonial post until January 2027, said that he will submit his resignation to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. If approved, he will be replaced by Vice-President Iliana Iotova until presidential elections in November.

Radev, who has expressed skepticism about Bulgaria’s recent move to join the euro and Kremlin-friendly views about the war in Ukraine, was elected president in 2016 and again in 2021.

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But his political ambitions have widened and he has long touted the possibility of forming his own party.

His move to step down, widely expected in the Balkan country, comes amid a political crisis that sees Bulgaria heading towards its eighth parliamentary election in four years. A fragmented parliament has meant that a series of election winners have failed to win majorities or create lasting coalitions.

The last coalition lasted nearly a year until protests against a new budget and widespread corruption forced it to resign in December. Elections are expected in the coming months.

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Meanwhile, Radev, a former air-force commander, has repeatedly had to appoint interim governments, raising his profile and his own political ambitions, analysts and western diplomats said.