Resignation of Bulgaria Chief Is Celebrated

More than 20,000 jubilant Bulgarians staged a rally in central Sofia on Saturday to celebrate the resignation of President Petar Mladenov, forced out by a series of “people power” protests.

Mladenov, 53, who ousted hard-line Communist leader Todor Zhivkov last November, resigned after growing public pressure to quit over charges that he called for tanks to crush an anti-government protest last December.

The resignation late Friday was unprecedented in Bulgaria’s modern history and sparked confusion in a country still struggling to make the transition from monolithic Communist state to multi-party democracy.

As the demonstration gathered steam outside government buildings, political leaders scrambled to find a replacement for Mladenov amid predictions the next head of state would come from outside the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party, once the Communist Party.

More than 5,000 students marched through downtown Sofia to hail Mladenov’s decision to quit. Earlier, student leaders announced the end of a 27-day sit-in protest, saying that their main demand had been met.

Although Mladenov’s party won a sweeping victory in free elections last month, many Bulgarians are skeptical of its commitment to reform, and many university graduates have emigrated.

“The students’ strike was not against one person but against a demoralized system,” poet Blaga Dimitrova told the crowd from the steps of the National bank.