Bulgarian politics is seeing another major turning point: for the first time in the country’s history, the leadership has passed into a woman’s hands. Vice President Iliana Yotova has begun exercising presidential powers—she officially stepped into the nation’s top office following Rumen Radev’s resignation.
Reports say Radev announced he would step down as president on January 19–20. He linked the decision to deep political deadlocks in the country and a snap parliamentary election, adding that he intends to take an active part in the political process. Under the Constitution, once his mandate ends, the vice president temporarily performs the president’s duties—this is exactly the mechanism that has now been triggered.
Now 61-year-old Iliana Yotova must hold consultations with parliamentary parties and decide on the date of the new election. With Bulgaria struggling to form a stable government in recent years, elections have been repeated one after another—European media note this is the seventh vote since 2021.
Yotova is no newcomer to politics: she served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2017, and was active on counterterrorism, migration issues, and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen. Later, as vice president, she reportedly paid special attention to Bulgarians abroad, as well as language and cultural ties.
Most notably, Yotova’s main “match” in the current situation is to create an atmosphere of agreement between parties and keep the pre-election period as calm as possible. In short, a political “playoff” has begun—and this time the captain is a woman.
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