Thousands of people have demonstrated in the Bulgarian capital for the eighth straight day, demanding the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski.\n<\/p>\n
Up to 10,000 protesters gathered in front of the government headquarters in downtown Sofia on Friday, shouting slogans against the government.\n<\/p>\n
The protestors called for reform of the political system in the European Union’s poorest country.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cWe demand that the oligarchy resign from political office so that Bulgaria can conform to European Union standards,\u201d organizers of the rally wrote on Facebook.\n<\/p>\n
The protests started last week, when the three-week-old government appointed media mogul Delyan Peevski as the chief of Bulgaria\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s National Security Agency (DANS).\n<\/p>\n
Oresharski has said the appointment was a mistake, but that his government will not resign over it.\n<\/p>\n
Shortly after the appointment, President Rosen Plevneliev said he had lost confidence in the government and demanded an immediate review of the controversial appointment.\n<\/p>\n
The appointment was controversial since Peevski runs one of the country’s major media groups and has no experience in national security.\n<\/p>\n
In February, the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s previous conservative-led government was forced to resign after massive protests were held against high-energy bills and low salaries in the poorest EU member state.\n<\/p>\n
YH\/HN<\/p>\n