Rosen Zhelyazkov announced his decision to step down just before parliament was scheduled to hold a no-confidence vote. His unpopular government has already survived five such votes andof corruption since coming to power at the beginning of 2025. The latest wave of protests that triggered his ouster began in November following the announcement of his government’s 2026 budget. The protests caused his government to withdraw the budget, but they continued for more than two weeks until he announced he would step down.
Source: OCCRP, 2025-12-18; https://www.occrp.org/en/news/anti-corruption-protests-force-bulgarias-pm-to-resign