President Rumen Radev and Vice President Iliana Yotova were sworn in for their second term at a solemn ceremony in the National Assembly.

The two, as well as all officials present in the plenary hall, were welcomed by a representative guard company at the central entrance of the National Assembly.

Among those present in the plenary hall were former President Petar Stoyanov, as well as previous Speakers of the National Assembly - Mikhail Mikov, Borislav Velikov, Ognyan Gerdjikov, as well as Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and cabinet ministers.

Radev and Yotova were greeted on their feet by the deputies of the four parties from the ruling coalition and Vazrazhdane, while the legislators from GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms remained seated.

Rumen Radev is the New-Old President of Bulgaria

In his address after taking the oath, Rumen Radev recalled that “5 years ago you gave me and entrusted me with the responsible mission as President of Bulgaria to work for the unity and well-being of our people, for the sovereignty and security of our centuries-old state.”

“Five years later, you have again entrusted us, Ms. Yotova and me, with the difficult task of continuing on the path we took together and taking the first decisive steps. Your trust is the most authoritative assessment of the complex decisions we made during our term of office, of what we have achieved together as a society. On the day we step into the second term, my first words are those of gratitude to you, dear compatriots,” Radev stressed.

“The first presidential term came at a dramatic time when the old authoritarian model of government reached its peak. As society grew increasingly resentful of the corruption, lawlessness, and propaganda on which he relied. The civil revolt in 2020 against the mafiaization of power brought to the surface facts and processes that it kept silent. I don't like it either, but I prefer the truth,” the head of state said.

At the entrance to the National Assembly, representatives of the opposition and the ruling party gave diverse assessments of the current activities of President Rumen Radev during his first term.

Desislava Atanasova from GERB stated:

“No president has ever behaved in this way. It is inexplicable to me how the president, who according to the Constitution must be supra-partisan and must be the unifier of all political forces, has become the divider of the nation.”

Stanislav Balabanov from “There Is Such a People” commented:

“The expectations are, of course, that he will continue to be constructive, as he has been so far, and to be a unifier of the nation. Because, if we look at his previous term, it was full of content in terms of the fact that the presidential institution was corrective when something went wrong in the country.”

The official inauguration of Radev and Yotova will take place on January 22 at a solemn ceremony in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.

/BNR