"Thousands of people rallied in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia on Thursday, protesting against a proposed state budget while demanding judicial reform and new, fair elections. Footage shows more than 15,000 demonstrators gathered at Independence Square, holding banners and chanting slogans such as 'Mafia – out' and 'Together we win', as lawmakers from the parliamentary majority moved to advance a vote on the budget. “We are more united than ever,” said Mariana Petrova, a student protester. “If we want fair elections, we have a lot of work to do. We need to stay together and steadfast to show that we do not want Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski to rule us.” The protests were triggered by the government’s proposed 2026 budget, which included plans to raise social security contributions and increase taxes on dividends in order to finance higher state spending. “The mafia controls people through appointments in the administration, family ties and direct payments,” said Dimitar, another protester. The outgoing government, which has resigned but assumes the role of a caretaker government until new snap elections are held, withdrew the budget amid the December 18 protests."