In a landmark address to the nation, President Rumen Radev announced that he will resign from his post before the Constitutional Court in order to participate in the upcoming elections.

Further reading: Who Is Iliyana Yotova: Bulgaria’s First Female President

For weeks, speculation has swirled about the president’s potential resignation and plans to lead a political project in the elections. Last month, Radev told the press that he would reveal a political initiative when society least expected it.

Further reading: Bulgaria After the President’s Resignation: What Comes Next Politically and Institutionally?

President Rumen Radev announced that he will submit his resignation on January 20, 2026, marking the end of his mandate and opening the way for his direct entry into active politics. The announcement came in an extraordinary address to the nation, delivered in the Hall of Arms at the Presidency in front of his secretaries and advisers.

Radev began by recalling that he was elected president for the first time nine years ago and re-elected in 2021, calling the trust placed in him “an honor and a responsibility” he sought to justify through all his actions. He reviewed a presidency marked by repeated crises, pressure on democratic institutions, and mass protests, noting that circumstances had compelled him to appoint caretaker governments seven times in order to defend the state and the public interest.

“Today is the last time I address you as president,” Radev said, asking citizens for forgiveness. He thanked them for their patience, acknowledged his mistakes, and admitted there were goals he did not manage to achieve. At the same time, he stressed that his conviction that change is possible was a central motive behind his decision to resign.

A central part of his address focused on broader questions about the state of the country. Radev asked why major national objectives such as joining Schengen and the eurozone had not resulted in stability or public confidence. He questioned why voter turnout has collapsed, why trust in the media and justice has eroded, why people have repeatedly taken to the streets, and why many Bulgarians feel poor and insecure despite formal European integration.

“The answer lies in the vicious governance model,” he said. According to Radev, it imitates democracy but functions through oligarchic mechanisms. Politics, he argued, takes place outside institutions, while real decisions are made by “puppeteers” who openly issue instructions to the National Assembly, seize parties, businesses, banks and media, and use power against political opponents. In his words, discredited politicians and their networks trade the national interest for personal survival and indulgence, even risking the peaceful life of Bulgarians amid a dangerous war near the country’s borders.

Radev also referred to the protests of 2020 and 2025, followed by repeated elections and growing public disappointment. He described what he called the final rupture between citizens and the political class, pointing in particular to the refusal of the National Assembly to hold a referendum on the timing of the euro’s introduction, which he said deprived people of their right to choose. He argued that changes to the Constitution had consolidated oligarchic control over the executive branch and weakened the role of caretaker governments as guarantors of fair elections.

According to the president, the latest wave of protests has produced a broad anti-mafia consensus that now needs to find political expression in upcoming parliamentary elections. “Two-thirds of Bulgarians no longer vote,” he said, adding that the country needs a new social contract and that democracy cannot survive if left in the hands of corrupt figures, compromisers and extremists.

Radev described the recent civic mobilization, especially among young people who have declared they do not want to leave Bulgaria, as a psychological turning point. “It is time to end the appeasement, the indifference and the illusion of individual rescue,” he said, calling for unity and an end to old divisions. He thanked those who supported and inspired him over the years, including protesters since the summer of 2020, students, Bulgarians abroad, his presidential team and his wife, whom he described as his support through the hardships of the past nine years.

Confirming the next steps, Radev stated that he will formally submit his resignation to the Constitutional Court on January 20. He underlined that during his presidency he and Vice President Iliyana Yotova had worked in coordination and with a shared goal, expressing confidence that Yotova would be “a worthy head of state” once she assumes the role. “A battle for the future of the fatherland lies ahead,” he said in closing. “We are ready, we can and we will succeed.”

Under Article 97 of the Constitution, resignation submitted to the Constitutional Court is one of the grounds for early termination of the mandates of the president and vice president. Their powers end once the Court establishes the resignation as valid. In such cases, the vice president assumes the presidency until the end of the term, which means Iliyana Yotova will take over as head of state.

Constitutional law expert Assoc. Prof. Borislav Tsekov said on BNT that the Court’s role is to verify the authenticity of the president’s will. He noted that refusal is possible only in cases of coercion or serious psychophysiological incapacity, which he said are clearly not present. Once the Court establishes the genuine intent to resign, it must issue its decision without delay, as any prolonged hesitation could trigger a constitutional crisis. Tsekov added that from this point on, Radev will have to answer political questions about his ideas, alliances and vision as he enters the political arena.

Radev is the fifth democratically elected president of Bulgaria. He was first elected in November 2016 and re-elected in November 2021. From 2014 to 2016, he served as commander of the Bulgarian Air Force. No Bulgarian president elected by popular vote has previously resigned before completing a full term. The only comparable precedent dates back to 1993, when Vice President Blaga Dimitrova resigned for political reasons, a move confirmed by the Constitutional Court at the time.

With his resignation, Radev becomes the first head of state in Bulgaria’s democratic history to leave office early after being elected directly by citizens, setting the stage for a new and uncertain political chapter.