[58][59] Radev, who was at this point criticising Borisov over the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country,[60][61] strongly rejected the allegations and accused the Prime Minister of having the nation's security service illegally spy on him and fabricate evidence.

[62] Shortly before the start of the protests, photographs emerged that purported to show what appeared to be Prime Minister Borisov laying half-naked on a bed, next to a nightstand featuring a handgun and stacks of 500 euro banknotes.

He also accused former Ombudswoman Maya Manolova, TV star Slavi Trifonov and his own former second in command Tsvetan Tsvetanov (who had just left and condemned the ruling party) of involvement in a plot to take photos of him while he was sleeping, in a "KGB-Style" kompromat operation.

[88] They are encouraged by President Rumen Radev, who has called for the expulsion of the Bulgarian mafia from the executive and the judiciary, as well as EU member states to express a position on the situation in the country, which is growing into a constitutional crisis.

He alleged that the tapes proved that Aleksandar Paunov, Communist Party of Bulgaria leader and opposition MP, held a conversation with Vasil Bozhkov, a Bulgarian exile wanted by the prosecution.

The protests were peaceful throughout the day, but tensions escalated after 22:30 as young men attempted to break into the parliament's office building and threw fireworks, bottles, stones and red paint at the police, resulting in six arrests.

(part of the Democratic Bulgaria coalition) announced that he had petitioned not only the supreme judicial council, but also PM Borisov to order his justice minister to fire Chief Prosecutor Geshev – making him the first leader of an opposition party to negotiate with the government.

and the "FIGHTER" association spilling trash bins onto the street and throwing beer bottles in an attempt to occupy the Bulgarian National Television building, where a debate was held between GERB's Parliamentary chief Daniela Daritkova and socialist leader Korneliya Ninova.

[170][171] After a meeting with the ruling coalition, PM Borisov publicly announced a 2 billion lev stimulus package, slated to be transferred to retirees, the unemployed, paramedics and business leaders in an attempt to placate the protesters.

[188][184] Protesters set up tents and makeshift camps on key intersections, thus creating permanent roadblocks that blocked several of Sofia's major boulevards and forced over a dozen lines of the city's public transport system to be rerouted.

He commented on the audio leaks released the previous day and opined that they showed "a clear sign of who is behind the discreditation campaign waged against the presidential institution", adding that "in his panicked attempts to save himself, the prime minister is taking his party and all of his fellow partymen down with him".

The result were two public statements – the first delivered in an interview before Bulgarian television by prominent GERB politician Tomislav Donchev, in which he stated that the government could potentially resign in September, following the passage of "important laws" in the nation's parliament.

[221] The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists of Bulgaria (KRIB), a national chamber of commerce, expressed their enthusiasm for the police operation by writing a personal letter to PM Borisov, thanking him for his "fast reaction".

[228][229] President Radev then issued a statement in which he opined that the political crisis in the country could only be solved by Borisov and Geshev's resignations, as he stated that "repressions against the opposition cannot possibly restore faith in the government".

[234][235] The protest movement was rocked by a scandal, as Democratic Bulgaria leader Hristo Ivanov was shown on video to be approached by another man, whom he appeared to know, later recognized as Dimitar Lambovski – a former NDSV parliamentarian with links to the SIC criminal organization.

[238] Nevertheless, the events led to calls by some demonstrators for Ivanov to reveal the full extent of his conversation with Lambovski, so as not to degrade the protest movement's anti-mafia credentials, as they deemed his current explanations to be insufficient.

[262] His other allies from the SDS enthusiastically supported Borisov's proposal, calling it "statesmanly and timely" and opining that only right-wing European People's Party members could "close the pages of the Lilovo-Lukanite constitution".

The Poisonous Trio - an informal group of three protest organizers criticised the move, stating that national monuments shouldn't be used for political purposes, while the historic site's custodian defined it as an "insult".

[287][288] President Radev, who gave a speech at the event, did not comment on the banner, but stated that the government and chief prosecutor should resign immediately, which he opined ought to be followed by a self-dissolution of the nation's parliament, which he defined as "discredited and now stripped of any legitimacy".

Bulgarian media linked his resignation to the scandals surrounding the Rosenets beach incident and the government's constitutional amendment proposals, as well as to an order PM Borisov had issued him about a month prior.

Radev criticised the assembly, stating that it had become "a mute and obedient executor of the prime minister's will" and reiterated his belief that the only way to solve the political crisis in the country was through the resignation of the entire government, followed by early elections.

[301] Following the end of the president's speech, the ruling coalition deputies returned to the floor and made their own statement, accusing Radev of having supported "purges" and "rebellions" and stated that "history would never remember a politician with a raised fist positively".

Karadaya lambasted the president's support for the protest movement and asserted that only his party could "guarantee the rights and freedoms of the individuals, the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the country, the irreplacability of the democracy and the free market economy".

[344][345] Anti-government protesters from The System Kills Us, accompanied by Maya Manolova and her organization Izpravise.BG infiltrated the new parliament building and barricaded themselves inside alongside a young person with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair.

The demonstrators painted with chalk the street in front of the house, writing: "resignation", "prison", "murderer", "thief", "traitor", "mafia boss", "criminal", "coward", "liar", "damn you", "shame and disgrace" etc.

Furthermore, she proposed the removal of a reference to the misuse of EU funds and high-level corruption allegations that directly involve the Prime Minister and sought to add a claim that a prominent Bulgarian gambling boss with 18 charges raised against him was funneling cash to the protest movement.

[400] Artist and animator Theodore Ushev has similarly identified the main issue as being the "carricature of democracy" that Bulgarian society has been receiving over the last 30 years, expressing the viewpoint that no protest can be a failure and remaining optimistic about the future.

[401] According to political commentator Evgeniy Daynov the protests are deep-rooted and even civilizational, reflecting the dissatisfaction of many modern thinking young people with the non-democratic governing practices that are seen as typical of the 1990s, thus in a sense representing a revolt of the future against the past.

[402] Writer Stefan Tsanev has been critical of the protest methods, such as the throwing of rotten produce at government buildings, and the non-compromising tone adopted by them, drawing parallels with the repressions associated with the dekulakization in Bulgaria.

[405] Political scientist Ognyan Minchev stated in December 2020 that the wider society has so far been unable to produce a credible alternative to Borisov's party that could lead the country in a new direction, though he also indicated that this is just a temporary bonus for the government and by no means something for which the status quo deserves praise.