For the twenty-second day in a row, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Sofia, calling for the resignation of Bulgaria's socialist-led government and praising calls for early elections.

Over the previous days the rallies against Bulgaria's Socialist-endorsed government of Plamen Oresharski proved to be one of the largest ones held in the capital Sofia in the last 15 years.

On Friday evening, the crowd stopped in front of the presidency and broke into applauses. That was a reaction to the president’s call for early elections, which he made clear in an address to the nation earlier on Friday.

Earlier in the day Bulgaria’s president called for new early elections, claiming this is the only way out of the ongoing political crisis and mass protests.

“Early parliamentary elections are the only democratic solution to the crisis we are in. To tell people that new early elections are a dangerous scenario is to tell them that democracy is dangerous,” Rosen Plevneliev said in his address to the nation in connection with the tense situation in the country.

“Bulgarians are protesting peacefully, which is a clear sign our society is mature…. What is most worrying is that there were attempts to artificially provoke ethnic conflicts. This means playing with fire and the consequences could be disastrous. Haven’t we learned anything from our neighbors? I firmly condemn those provocations!”

The series of anti-government protests in Bulgaria was triggered by the scandalous appointment of controversial media mogul Delyan Peevski as Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS).

Although the appointment was revoked, the people went on to demand that the cabinet resign collectively over ties with oligarchs.

Protesters are also calling for Election Code amendments which will guarantee greater representation of the people in Parliament.

Plevneliev has backed the protests earlier, but two days ago he said the solution for the crisis was not a "revolution, but right steps in the right direction."

According to him, the political instability has a negative influence on entrepreneurs and investments. He stressed the crisis in the country is not an economic one as the macroeconomic indicators are stable, due to the strict fiscal policy and the established fundamental "culture of stability on the backdrop of the currency board."

The President believes the political parties need counter-pressure, but with concrete and well-postulated demands.

Bulgaria’s embattled Socialist-backed government however has repeatedly denied rampant speculations that it is considering resignation amid mass protests.

“The issue is not on our agenda at all. We have never discussed it," Defense Minister Anguel Naydenov told bTV on Sunday morning.

“We have strong support from people in the whole country. So there is no cause to be disturbed by the fact that several thousand protesters are demanding our resignation. We have no intention to resign now or in May. We have lots to offer in terms of social and other measures,” Naydenov pointed out.

The statement came days after Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski made it clear he will not resign as long as the government has the support of Bulgaria’s parliament.

He denied hinting at quitting his post when the opposition boycotted the parliamentary sitting and it was cancelled.

“This is your own interpretation of my words,” he told reporters.

This is the second time that the embattled prime minister defies calls to resign.

Earlier in the month he warned that the renewed political crisis might jeopardise Bulgaria's negotiations for EU aid between 2014 and 2020 and cost the newcomer billions of euros in lost subsidies.

“Quitting now would also mean a deepening of the economic and social crisis,” he said.

The prospect of new early elections loomed large in Bulgaria on Wednesday after the Socialist Party also said it is bracing up for snap polls amid fears the opposition will continue to hamper the work of parliament.

The Socialists feared that the leader of the nationalists party Ataka Volen Siderov and his MPs will continue to boycott the parliament and the plenary sitting will have to be cancelled.

Members of the center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, are also boycotting the parliamentary sittings, saying they will attend only if changes to the Election Code are on the agenda.

Meanwhile Bulgaria's former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov stated that early general elections in September would be the best scenario for the country.

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