Bulgaria's prime minister announces resignation amid corruption allegations

(AFP) Bulgaria's prime minister announced his resignation on Thursday, a day after yet another mass demonstration to denounce corruption in the state apparatus, and three weeks before the country's entry into the eurozone.

"I inform you that the government is resigning today," Rosen Zhelyazkov said during a press conference as deputies considered a motion of censure tabled by the opposition.

On Wednesday night, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the capital Sofia and other cities across the country in a fresh show of outrage against a government accused of corruption.

The wave of discontent, unprecedented in several years and with a significant youth presence, began in late November, when the government attempted to fast-track approval of the 2026 budget, the first drafted in euros.

After seven elections in less than four years, Zhelyazkov's fragile government was formed in January, bringing together a coalition of circumstance between former prime minister Boyko Borisov's conservative GERB and two other formations, with parliamentary support from the Turkish minority.

Under pressure, the government withdrew its draft budget on December 3, which had provided for increases in certain taxes and social contributions. Increases that, according to protesters and the opposition, were intended to conceal diversions of funds.