President Rumen Radev is expected to form his own political party ahead of the upcoming snap vote.
Published on January 19, 2026
Rumen Radev, the president of Bulgaria, has announced his resignation, and there are speculations that he will first form his own political party. Snap elections It is expected to happen in the coming months.
Radev said on Monday that he will submit his resignation to the country’s constitutional court the next day. If approved by the court, he will be replaced by Vice President Ileana Iotova.
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“Today, I am addressing you for the last time as president of Bulgaria,” Radev, 62, said during a televised speech, adding that he was eager to take part in the country’s “battle for the future”.
His resignation, the first by a head of state in Bulgaria’s post-communist history, comes as the country – which is a member of the European Union and NATO – struggles to overcome a protracted political crisis.
Bulgaria’s last government was ousted in December amid widespread anti-corruption protests, of which the left-leaning Radev was an outspoken supporter. The upcoming snap election will be the eighth round of voting in Bulgaria in five years.
Massive 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 in the current parliament have since failed, and the country is heading for the eighth parliamentary election from 2021.
Radev, whose second mandate expires in 2026, has repeatedly hinted that he may run in new elections. The former air force general was a vocal opponent of GERB party leader Boyko Borisov.
Under sanctions from the United States and the United Kingdom over alleged bribery, corruption and media manipulation – whose MRF New Beginning party has repeatedly backed the outgoing GERB-led coalition – Radev has also opposed politician and oligarch Delyan Pevski.
The former president has cast doubt on Bulgaria’s decision to join the eurozone and opposed sending military aid to Ukraine, chastising European leaders for not sufficiently supporting US President Donald Trump’s efforts to facilitate a negotiated peace.
Radev did not mention what his plans are on Monday. Asked about forming a new party recently, he said, “There is a need for a party that unites all democrats – left and right – wherever they are or whether they are politically active, because we all need fair elections and democratic, open development”.
A recent Market Links survey found that Radev has a 44 percent approval rating.
“His goal is to be close to the majority so he doesn’t have to negotiate,” Parvan Simonov of the Mayra polling agency told the AFP news agency, adding that a solid result for Radev could be “a way out” of the country’s political crisis.