Bulgaria returns to the polls: early parliamentary elections on 19 April

Brussels – There is no peace for Bulgaria, which has been called to vote again. Bulgarian President Ilijana Jotova announced today (18 February) new early parliamentary elections for 19 April. The decision was in the air—Bulgarians were just waiting for the official date to be announced—since last week, Jotova appointed Andrey Gyrov, the former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, as prime minister of an interim government tasked with steering the country towards a new vote. The eighth in almost five years. 

The last government to fall was that of Rosen Zeljazkov, a member of the conservative party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB). Zelijazkov took office in January 2025, following his party’s victory in the October 2024 elections, but was forced to resign in December last year after weeks of protests against the budget law his government presented. 

Zeljazkov’s departure was quickly followed by President Rumen Radev‘s resignation, considered one of GERB’s main opponents. For this reason, the most likely scenario is that Radev will be among the main candidates in the April parliamentary elections. 

Next spring’s vote comes at a time of profound political instability in Bulgaria, which can now be considered chronic, given that, since 2021, no prime minister has managed to complete the regular four-year term provided for in the Constitution. This instability is caused by a range of factors, the first of which is the dispersion of consensus, which produces fragile and uneven alliances. 

In Bulgaria, the early elections in April will not be the last: Radev’s recent resignation will require new presidential elections once the vote for the new Parliament is complete. A series of electoral deadlines will keep the country busy at a time that is nonetheless noteworthy for the EU: Sofia has joined the Eurozone on 1 January this year.