Bulgaria’s Never-ending Election Fatigue
For nearly two years, Bulgarians relished in what seemed to be political stability.
In October 2024, they had braved their 7th parliamentary election in 4 years, and the people were confident they had made the right choice. Their assembled parliament was tougher, more cohesive, and more cooperative than previous ones. For the following year and a half, it seemed as though political stability was finally emerging, and Bulgaria breathed a sigh of relief. At least, it tried to. The freedom from emergency elections and no-confidence votes seemed promising at best, but it also came with an underlying worry: fear as to whether this electoral fiasco would last much longer.
It turns out, that fear was right. The 2024 vision of political stability turned out to be nothing but a mass delusion and now, the illusion of parliamentary unity has begun to crumble.
In December 2025, the Bulgarian parliament led by former Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyaskov officially resigned and prompted the need for yet another parliamentary election to take place. The elections scheduled for April 2026 mark a disappointing return to Bulgaria’s political crisis. They will force Bulgarians to return to the polls yet again and will worsen already-existing feelings of election fatigue.
Former Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyaskov © European Union, 1998 – 2026, via Wikimedia Commons
Election fatigue is when voters are exhausted by numerous elections being held in a short period of time (often due to the government repeatedly falling apart). When a society experiences election fatigue, its civic participation is seriously affected. Voter turnout decreases, as people feel a sense of hopelessness going into the polls. Will this next government actually stick? Can one election really overcome structural divisions? Most of all, people wonder about which political party to trust next. Each election cycle, they witness the leaders they trusted fail to keep their promises and fall back into the same reluctance to negotiate. How can they reasonably give them their vote a second or third time?
Unfortunately, Bulgaria’s problem with election fatigue is no longer limited to its parliament. Until now, it was mainly parliamentary elections that Bulgarians were continuously being called back for. The presidential elections seemed to be untouched, on the other hand. Presidents were serving their 4-year terms as expected, and elections were being conducted accordingly. However, Bulgaria’s presidential election has finally been roped into the political crisis in a completely unprecedented way: only a few weeks after delivering the traditional “new year’s address,” former President Rumen Radev formally resigned from his position in favor of entering parliamentary politics instead.
This means that Bulgarians won’t just be returning to the polls this April. They’ll also be coming back in the fall of 2026, tasked with finding a new president. The sad reality is that even more voters than before will feel too burnt out to involve themselves. People may choose not to vote in one of the elections or even both because of the shared sense of despair and dejectedness that comes from election fatigue. Trust in state institutions is also failing: according to the Gallup’s National Institutions Index, Bulgaria ranks among the last in the world when it comes to trust in the national government and its institutions. The judicial system is especially distrusted, and Bulgarians’ trust in domestic elections is the lowest in the world, standing at a mere 10%. This implies that many have already given up on their government and its role in the democratic process. With each repeat election, Bulgarians see their government fail to overcome party lines, choose efficiency, and even hold confidence in its decisions. Instead, they’ve watched their national leaders refuse coalitions, ignore calls for unity, and quit time and again under the pressure of a divided government.
Furthermore, many Bulgarians living abroad are using the political crisis as an excuse to distance themselves from national politics. Research has confirmed that although Bulgaria’s emigration flow has constantly been increasing for the past few decades, its return migration flow hasn’t budged, remaining low. Essentially, Bulgarians who settle abroad tend to permanently detach themselves from their home. That also extends to their civic participation, as only 20% of Bulgarians abroad voted in the April 2021 elections (a number which has already increased with each new election.) With foreign civic participation already being this low, the recent fall of the parliament and presidential seat will be a wake-up call for even more Bulgarian emigrants. They’ll further lose hope in their country and grow closer and closer to whatever political sanctuaries they have found overseas. Those countries have and will continue to be models of political cooperation that put Bulgaria to shame. For example, Belgium boasts an 88% voter turnout rate—twice as large as that of Bulgaria—and in countries like Spain and Poland, civil society initiatives and online activism have picked up. The public sphere is finally taking note.
Parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, 4 April 2021 Credit: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
But for just as many activists and patriots, the fight is not over. Millions will still show up to polling places near them, determined to make a change and improve their country’s political climate. With roughly 44% of all Bulgarians voting, it’s clear that political advocates haven’t fully disappeared, and a low turnout rate doesn’t necessarily mean there are no voters. The mass protests from this winter (where tens of thousands took to the streets, calling for the parliament’s resignation) are another powerful example of political mobilization. Additionally, the European Fundraising Association found that Bulgarians involved with NGOs are doubly likely to “defend democracy.” They stand aware of the culture of division that permeates Bulgarian institutions and yet, they accept their civic duties and attempt to better it. This is proof that Bulgarian democracy is not yet dead, even if it is dying. But where does it go from here? What are the next steps to restoring democracy?
First, individual Bulgarians must reclaim their democratic power. Each person is equipped with the power to be heard and advocate for political change — regardless of their voting status. For those that can vote, however, they must continue to use that power. In a world where more and more Bulgarians have grown too exhausted to properly wield their vote, it’s crucial for voters to keep making an effort regardless. No matter how many times the parliament falls or the president resigns, democracy depends on the people. And without the people, that democratic power they possess is stolen and weaponized by the system. So if Bulgarians need any reason to vote, they must do it out of spite and respect for themselves as citizens.
Now, Bulgaria has always struggled with political shake-ups and the most recent crisis is not an exception. It’s part of the norm, a byproduct of the exact same political structure that’s been imposed for the past decade. Still, that doesn’t mean the nation must accept that system as justified or legitimate. Bulgarians still possess the strength to tear it down and start anew. Civil advocacy can go beyond what they can imagine, but only if they’re willing to dream in the first place.