President vs prime minister in Bulgaria: who has the power?

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers run the country, and the 240-seat parliament can remove them. The president is directly elected for 5 years and is head of state. The office can delay laws, commands the armed forces and appoints caretaker governments, but it does not govern day to day.

As of 26 October 2026. Article numbers are from the consolidated Constitution, including the Constitutional Court’s 2024 ruling.

Who does what: president or prime minister?

The table summarises the Constitution and the presidency’s own overview.

	President	Prime minister and Council of Ministers
How chosen	Direct vote, two rounds if needed (Art. 93)	Elected by the National Assembly (240 MPs)
Term	5 years, max two terms	Until parliament’s 4-year term ends or a no-confidence vote
Main job	Head of state, “unity of the nation” (Art. 92)	Runs domestic and foreign policy (Art. 105)
Laws	Promulgates; can return a law once (Art. 101)	Proposes bills and the budget, runs the state budget (Art. 106)
Army	Commander-in-chief; appoints top commanders on the government’s proposal (Art. 100)	Overall direction of the armed forces (Art. 105)
Diplomacy	Appoints ambassadors on the government’s proposal (Art. 98)	Sets foreign policy; concludes treaties where the law provides (Art. 106)
Government crisis	Hands out mandates, appoints a caretaker cabinet, calls elections (Art. 99)	—
Judiciary	Appoints 4 of 12 Constitutional Court judges; formally appoints the Prosecutor General and top judges on the judicial council’s proposal (Art. 129, 147)	—
Other	Pardons, citizenship, asylum, medals (Art. 98)	Appoints deputy ministers

How can parliament override a presidential veto?

By voting for the same law again with more than half of all MPs, at least 121 of 240. The president must then promulgate it within seven days, so the veto is only suspensive. Radev’s vetoes were overridden several times. On 30 October 2025 MPs passed again, 126 to 86, a law moving the appointment of the State Intelligence Agency chief to parliament, Sofia Globe reported. On 13 November 2025, a day after Radev’s veto, parliament readopted the law on a special administrator for the Lukoil refinery in Burgas by 128 votes to 59, according to the same outlet. Radev had called it indirect nationalisation.

Why did Radev resign and become prime minister?

On 19 January 2026 Rumen Radev announced his resignation, the first by a head of state in Bulgaria’s post-communist history, AP reported. The Constitutional Court unanimously approved it on 23 January, and Vice President Iliana Yotova took over under Article 97(3), becoming the first woman in the office. A president may not lead a party (Art. 95), so Radev had to leave to run. His Progressive Bulgaria won 131 of 240 seats in the 19 April snap election (results), and parliament elected him prime minister on 8 May by 124 votes to 70, BTA reported.

How are caretaker governments chosen now?

Since amendments adopted in December 2023, the president must pick a caretaker prime minister from a fixed list: the Speaker, the central bank governor or a deputy governor, the head or a deputy head of the National Audit Office, and the Ombudsman or a deputy (Art. 99). The caretaker PM proposes the ministers. On 26 July 2024 the Constitutional Court struck down most of the judicial changes but kept these caretaker rules, BNT reported. When Yotova named Andrey Gyurov on 12 February 2026, she said he was the only one on the list who resigned his post, as deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, according to Sofia Globe.

What will the 1 November winner control, and what not?

The winner of the Yotova–Gyurov runoff takes office in January 2027 for five years. They will be able to return laws, address the nation, appoint caretaker cabinets if parliament fails, command the army and appoint four Constitutional Court judges as seats fall vacant. They will not set the budget, taxes or the government’s foreign policy: that is the Council of Ministers’ job, backed by a parliamentary majority. Because Progressive Bulgaria holds more than 121 seats, it currently has enough votes on its own to override a veto.

What does it mean for Varna?

For residents, prices, taxes, pensions and the response to Black Sea security come mainly from the government and parliament. Bulgarian citizens registered in Varna vote in the runoff at their usual polling station; our first-round explainer covers how voting works. Varna Pulse does not take sides.