Bulgarian Constitutional Court to Rule on President Radev’s Resignation

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has tendered his resignation to the Constitutional Court and the head of State is awaiting its ruling, Radev’s Press Secretariat told BTA on Tuesday.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Radev announced that he was resigning the presidency. He is the only Bulgarian president so far to have left office before the end of his term.

While the period within which the Constitutional Court has to rule on the resignation lies within its discretion, the only precedent so far (with Blaga Dimitrova’s resignation as vice president in 1993) suggests that this decision takes not longer than a week, www.lex.bg writes. Such a decision does not require taking evidence, requiring observations, or hearing parties. The Court merely has to ascertain that the president resigned acting of his own free will.

Radev would then be released with immediate effect, and Vice President Iliana Iotova will take over his powers for the remainder of the term, i.e. until January 2027.