Bulgaria Sets April 19 Snap Election After Protests Topple Government

voiceofvienna.org · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Bulgaria will return to the polls on April 19 in yet another snap parliamentary election, following the collapse of its government after weeks of nationwide protests over corruption and public spending, according to Al Jazeera News. Acting President Iliana Iotova announced the date on Wednesday after accepting the resignation of the previous administration in December. The government had been under mounting pressure from demonstrators who accused leaders of hiding widespread corruption behind the country’s 2026 draft budget. To guide the country through the transition, Iotova appointed Andrey Gyurov, a deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, to head a caretaker cabinet charged with organizing the election. Gyurov presented his interim ministers shortly before the president’s announcement. The vote will mark Bulgaria’s eighth parliamentary election in just five years, a stark sign of deep political fragmentation. Parties have repeatedly failed to build stable coalitions in a divided parliament, leaving governments short-lived and reforms stalled. Even after the conservative GERB party finished first in the 2024 election and formed a coalition, public frustration continued to simmer. Tensions erupted again in late November, when citizens filled city streets to protest the proposed 2026 budget. Demonstrators said it masked entrenched corruption rather than confronting it. The unrest soon destabilized the ruling coalition, culminating in its resignation weeks later. Adding to the upheaval, longtime president Rumen Radev stepped down last month amid speculation he planned to return to frontline politics. In a farewell address, the 62-year-old said he was ready to join the “battle for the future” of Bulgaria within the European Union and NATO. Iotova, his former deputy, assumed the presidency, with a separate presidential election expected later this year. Bulgaria’s latest political reset comes just months after the country adopted the euro on January 1, highlighting the contrast between its deeper European integration and persistent domestic instability. The April vote will test whether voters can break the cycle of fragile governments and restore confidence in the state.