Thousands rally in Bulgaria against corruption, call for judicial reform

SOFIA, Dec ‌18 (Reuters) - Thousands of Bulgarians protested on Thursday evening against the outgoing government, ‍calling ‌for fair elections and judicial reform to tackle what they describe as endemic ⁠corruption in the European Union's poorest member ‌state.

The protests in the capital Sofia and several other towns and cities across the Black Sea nation are the latest in a series of rolling demonstrations and come as Bulgaria ⁠prepares to adopt the euro on January 1.

The outgoing government, in power since January, had looked set ​to oversee the transition to the euro, but Prime ‌Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov handed in his ⁠government's resignation last week after weeks of street protests against state corruption and a new budget that would have increased taxes.

Protesters on Thursday held Bulgarian ​and EU flags. One sign read "This is not farce."

"Everything about it (the government) is extremely brazen. Shameless. Such arrogant behaviour defines this government," said Shisman Nikolov, a 48-year-old salesman.

"Society does not respect people who consider themselves above others."

The president, Rumen Radev, ​is ‍holding consultations with parties, but ​if they refuse or fail to form the government, he will appoint an interim government and call a snap election.

Bulgaria, a NATO member state, has held seven national elections in the past four years as consecutive governments failed to keep control of a fractured parliament.

Kalina Yurukova, 21-year-old student, said: "If you steal constantly, you must ⁠think you are above everyone else. And for people who are arrogant and have not a shred of shame, I ​cannot have respect or associate myself with them.”

Earlier this month, the government withdrew its 2026 budget plan, the first drafted in euros, due to the mass protests. Opposition parties and other organisations said they were ‌protesting against plans to hike social security contributions and taxes on dividends to finance higher state spending.

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Daniel Wallis)