The Resignation of President Rumen Radev Has Been Submitted to the Constitutional Court

The resignation of President Rumen Radev has been submitted to the Constitutional Court, and the head of state is now awaiting its ruling. What follows procedurally, and how are the other political forces commenting on the move by the outgoing president?

Bulgaria's President Radev Resigns

President Rumen Radev has formally lodged his resignation with the Constitutional Court for approval. However, the Constitution does not specify a deadline by which the constitutional judges are required to rule. According to legal experts, their decision is not expected to be delayed.

Prof. Plamen Kirov, constitutional law expert, said:

“It seems to me that this will be resolved very quickly, within two or three days.”
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Assoc. Prof. Borislav Tsekov, constitutional law expert, commented:

“The resignation shall be submitted to the Constitutional Court. This is an undisputed procedure in this case, because the only thing the constitutional judges have to do is to establish the authenticity of the President’s will. That is clearly beyond any doubt. It was expressed personally and publicly before the nation. Literally within a matter of days, at most by the end of the week, the Court should establish this fact.”

So far in Bulgaria’s political history, only Vice President Blaga Dimitrova has resigned from office. In 1993, she stepped down because of her disagreement with the actions of President Zhelyu Zhelev. At that time, the Constitutional Court ruled within six days.

Once President Radev’s resignation is confirmed, Vice President Iliana Iotova will take the oath of office as President before the National Assembly. She will then continue the procedure by forming a caretaker government and setting a date for parliamentary elections.

Prof. Plamen Kirov said:

“With this move by the President, which was expected by everyone, the procedure will be delayed. Our attention is focused on the forthcoming early elections. Elections must take place, of course. They will not be on 29 March, because we are missing the timetable. They will be after Easter.”
Until now, the parties represented in parliament had been insisting that the vote should be held at the end of March or at the beginning of April.