Radev Announces Readiness for Change: 'We Are Ready, We Will Succeed!'

President Rumen Radev marked the ninth anniversary of his inauguration with a political message signalling readiness for a new chapter, just days after formally submitting his resignation.

In a statement published on his personal profile, Radev thanked all those who had supported him and Vice President Iliyana Yotova over the past nine years in what he described as efforts to defend statehood and the public interest. He argued that in 2025 Bulgarian citizens had expressed a clear and uncompromising demand for change, driven by expectations of a dignified life, justice, transparent institutions and politicians who listen to society. According to Radev, this public will must now be preserved and translated into concrete action. “We are ready, we can do it and we will succeed,” he wrote.

The message coincided with exactly nine years since Radev assumed office as president and Yotova as vice president. Earlier this week, Radev officially submitted his resignation to the Constitutional Court. The judges are expected to review the request and rule on its validity at a session scheduled for tomorrow. Once the court formally terminates his mandate, constitutional procedures will be set in motion.

If the resignation is confirmed, Vice President Iliyana Yotova is expected to assume the role of head of state, making her Bulgaria’s first female president. From that moment, she will take over the constitutional responsibilities linked to the transition, including continuing the process of appointing a caretaker government. That interim cabinet will be tasked with organising the upcoming early parliamentary elections.

Radev, who was re-elected for a second term, will become the first president in Bulgaria’s 33-year constitutional history to step down before completing his mandate. His term was due to end in 2026, but instead that year now appears set to mark the launch of his next political project, with an explicit intention to seek participation in elections for a new National Assembly.

In a separate statement made on the eve of the ninth anniversary of his presidency, Radev warned that Bulgarian democracy would not survive if left in the hands of corruption, political compromise and extremism. He stressed that the future of the country depends on personal responsibility and public trust, which he said obliges him to continue defending statehood and Bulgaria’s long-term prospects.

Should Yotova take over as president, she will enter the final year of her second five-year term in a new capacity. As head of state, she will have to appoint the eighth caretaker government in the past decade and the third under the revised constitutional rules. Her duties will also include holding consultations with parliamentary forces and setting a date for early parliamentary elections, formally opening the next phase of Bulgaria’s political transition.

Further reading: NATO Pilot, Putin Sympathizer, or Something Else? Who Is Rumen Radev and Why Did He Just Blow Up Bulgarian Politics