The resignation of President Rumen Radev has already been submitted to the Constitutional Court and the head of state is awaiting its ruling, informs dariknews.bg.
According to Article 97 of the Constitution, one of the options for early termination of the powers of the president and vice president is the submission of resignation to the Constitutional Court. After the president resigns, his powers are terminated upon the Constitutional Court establishing the specified circumstances. According to the basic law, when the head of state resigns, the vice president assumes the position of president until the end of the term. The current Vice President of Bulgaria is Iliyana Yotova.
The Constitution stipulates that in such a case, the powers of the head of state are terminated upon the court's establishment of the circumstances specified in the act of resignation. Reaching the final decision should take no more than a week. No evidence or opinions are collected for it. The parties are not even heard. Radev remains president until the Constitutional Court delivers its ruling. Judges have no time limit in such cases, no evidence or opinions are collected. Magistrates are not even obliged to discuss Radev's motives for resigning. They only need to state that the resignation was submitted voluntarily.
After this decision, which comes into force upon its enactment, Vice President Iliana Yotova will serve as President until the end of the term - January 21, 2027.
On January 19, we witnessed an unprecedented situation in the political life of our country - Head of State Rumen Radev made an extraordinary address to the Bulgarian people, announcing that he was resigning as President of Bulgaria.
"I would like to note that for these nine years as President and Vice President, we have shown that we can work effectively and in sync, united by a common goal. I am convinced that Iliana Yotova will be a worthy head of state and I want to thank her for her support throughout these nine years. We have a battle ahead for the future of the fatherland and I believe that we will fight it together with all of you – the worthy, the inspired and the irreconcilable. We are ready, we can and we will succeed“, he said.
Rumen Radev is the fifth democratically elected President of Bulgaria. He was elected for his first term in November 2016, and in November 2021 he was re-elected for a second term. In the period 2014 - 2016, Rumen Radev was the Commander of the Bulgarian Air Force.
To date, there has been no case of resignation by a President of Bulgaria.