President Iliana Yotov faces pressure over 2026 budget veto as parties and unions demand changes

Iliana Yotov 2026 budget veto constitutional complaint Bulgaria

President Iliana Yotov is expected to decide within 14 days whether to veto the 2026 state budget, which was passed with a 5.7 % deficit of GDP and freezes the minimum wage at €620. The governing coalition “Continue the Change” and the opposition opposition GERB‑SDS have announced plans to file constitutional complaints, arguing that several provisions are unconstitutional, including the suspension of disability pensions without a court act, reductions in workers’ rights, the minimum‑wage freeze that may breach EU rules, and the tying of magistrates’ salaries to those of MPs.

Asen Vasilev, leader of “Continue the Change”, presented a petition of over 34,000 signatures urging Yotov to veto the law and said the party will submit objections to the Constitutional Court if the veto is not applied. The trade‑union federation “Support” also submitted a petition objecting to changes in the labor code concerning the calculation of work‑seniority and the minimum‑wage mechanism, and it criticised the budget’s deficit target as incompatible with public‑finance law.

The coalition “Progressive Bulgaria” has publicly declared its support for Yotov’s candidacy in the upcoming presidential election, a stance echoed by Prime Minister Rumen Radев. Meanwhile, other political figures such as Nikolay Nenchov and Vladislav Goranov have voiced concerns about the broader political implications of the budget and the election process.

Entities: Asen Vasilev · Atanas Shtilyanov · Iliana Yotov · Iliana Yotova · Mira Dobreva · Nikolay Denkov · Progressive Bulgaria · Rebel Bulgaria · Rumen Radev · Rumen Radеv · Rumen Radев · Support (trade union)

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Iliana Yotov received 39.7 % support in a Global Metrics poll of Bulgarian voters conducted between 23 June and 11 July 2026. (b9d8d5b4-0b5e-4a20-adb2-8686b8672de7)
[○ 1 SOURCE] 84 % of respondents sympathetic to BSP‑United Left indicated readiness to support Iliana Yotov. (global poll)
[○ 1 SOURCE] 78 % of respondents sympathetic to Progressive Bulgaria indicated readiness to support Iliana Yotov. (global poll)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Rebel Bulgaria will not support Iliana Yotov, citing her failure to veto US aircraft at Bezmer air base, her backing of the 2026 budget, and her perceived depersonalisation of the presidency. (statement by Atanas Shtilyanov on Eurocom)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Andrey Gyurov received 23 % support, Daniel Valtchev 18 % and Ivan Hristov 12 % in the same Global Metrics poll. (global poll)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Mira Dobreva declined a proposal to run as a vice‑presidential candidate in the upcoming Bulgarian election. (Facebook post by Mira Dobreva)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Mira Dobreva said she wants to remain a journalist focusing on elderly people rather than pursue a political career. (Facebook post by Mira Dobreva)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Confederation of Labour “Подкрепа” asked President Yotov to veto the budget over changes to labour seniority and the minimum‑wage mechanism. (c9ef0ee3-405e-4a9b-bb49-776abc4a3705)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Television presenter Mira Dobreva declined a proposal to run as a vice‑presidential candidate. (050f4c5c-5e86-4489-a76a-b5de1bdb19d0)
[○ 1 SOURCE] President Iliana Yotov will decide whether to veto the 2026 state budget. (2f9b68d3-1d99-4650-9049-0bd9ff84aaaf)
[● 2 SOURCES] The party “Продължаваме промяната” will file a constitutional complaint if President Yotov does not veto the budget. (7f6563dc-5478-4714-8b84-734e475f366b)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The budget allows new public debt up to 10.1 billion lev. (73b14f41-a1ee-463e-8969-f93e6d6bccd5)