{"id":9209,"date":"2026-01-19T22:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T22:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=9209"},"modified":"2026-01-19T22:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T22:10:22","slug":"bulgarias-president-rumen-radev-says-he-will-resign-ahead-of-snap-election-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=9209","title":{"rendered":"Bulgaria\u2019s President Rumen Radev says he will resign ahead of snap election | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Radev is widely expected to form his own political party prior to the upcoming snap vote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 19 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">19 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has said that he will resign, stoking speculation that he will form his own political party ahead of snap elections expected to take place in the months ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Radev said on Monday that he would submit his resignation to the country\u2019s Constitutional Court the following day. He will be replaced by Vice President Iliana Iotova if the court grants approval.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cToday, I am addressing you for the last time as president of Bulgaria,\u201d the 62-year-old Radev said during a televised speech, adding that he was eager to participate in the \u201cbattle for the future\u201d of the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">His resignation, the first by a head of state in Bulgaria\u2019s post-communist history, comes as the country \u2013 which is a member of the European Union and NATO \u2013 struggles to overcome a prolonged political crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Bulgaria\u2019s last government was swept out of power in December amid widespread anticorruption protests, of which the left-leaning Radev was an outspoken supporter. The upcoming snap election will mark Bulgaria\u2019s eighth round of voting in five years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Large anticorruption protests last month forced the resignation of the governing coalition, led by the centre-right GERB party. Attempts to form a new government within the current parliament have subsequently failed, and the country is headed towards its eighth parliamentary election since 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Radev, whose second mandate ends in 2026, has repeatedly indicated that he may take part in new elections. The former Air Force general has been a vocal opponent of the leader of the GERB party, Boyko Borissov.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Radev has also opposed politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski \u2013 under sanctions from the United States and United Kingdom over alleged bribery, corruption and media manipulation \u2013 whose MRF New Beginning party has repeatedly backed the outgoing GERB-led coalition.<\/p>\n<p>The former president has expressed doubt about Bulgaria\u2019s decision to join the eurozone and is opposed to sending military aid to Ukraine, chastising European leaders for not doing enough to support the efforts of US President Donald Trump to facilitate a negotiated peace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Radev did not mention on Monday what his plans are. Asked recently about forming a new party, he said there was a need for a party that \u201cunites all democrats \u2013 left and right \u2013 regardless of where they belong or whether they are politically active at all, because we all need fair elections and democratic, free development\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A recent Market Links poll found that Radev has an approval rating of 44 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis goal is to be close to the majority so that he doesn\u2019t have to negotiate,\u201d Parvan Simeonov from the Myara polling agency told the news agency AFP, adding that a solid result for Radev could be \u201ca way out\u201d of the country\u2019s political crisis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Radev is widely expected to form his own political party prior to the upcoming snap vote. Published On 19 Jan 202619 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has said that he will resign, stoking speculation that he will form his own political party ahead of snap [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}