Bulgarian parliament approves cabinet resignation

SOFIA -- Bulgarian parliament on Friday approved the resignation of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov amid large-scale protests over the economic policy of the ruling majority.

As many as 227 members of the 240-seat parliament supported the resignation Zhelyazkov submitted on Thursday.

Zhelyazkov's government will continue to act until the election or appointment of a new Council of Ministers.

According to the Bulgarian Constitution, the country's President Rumen Radev should hold consultations with the parliamentary groups, and appoint a prime minister-designate nominated by the largest among them.

Should the prime minister-designate fail to form a government within seven days, the president shall entrust this task to a prime minister-designate nominated by the second largest parliamentary group, and in case of another failure, Radev shall entrust the task to a prime minister-designate nominated by one of the minor parliamentary groups.

If the parties in the parliament fail to form a new cabinet after three attempts, Radev shall appoint a caretaker government.

The government took power on Jan 16 after snap elections in Oct 2024, the seventh parliamentary election in Bulgaria in three and a half years. Zhelyazkov was nominated by GERB-UDF, the largest force in the parliament with 66 seats in the legislature.