COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered state employees back to their offices full-time starting next month.
In an executive order issued Tuesday, DeWine required all permanent employees of state agencies, boards and commissions to resume five-day, in-office work weeks no later than March 17. He said the move will allow the state to best serve the public and to make best use of its remaining office space. Both are in the best interests of Ohio citizens, he wrote.
The return date set by DeWine falls almost five years to the day after the state declared an emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 9, 2020, and allowed certain employees to work remotely.
Many of those workers either returned to their offices full-time or on a hybrid basis starting in June 2021, when the emergency was lifted.
Tuesday's order requires virtually all employees to now return. It allows agencies to grant exceptions in cases where some or all of their real estate portfolios have been eliminated. Lease terminations and space reallocations that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic saved Ohio taxpayers millions of dollars, the order says.
According to the document, a majority of Ohio's state employees actually never worked remotely, due to the nature of their work at state hospitals, prisons, law enforcement agencies or in other jobs requiring a physical presence.
DeWine's mandate comes as some major Columbus employers, including American Electric Power and JPMorganChase, also have required a return to five-day work weeks in March. Republican President Donald Trump also is requiring federal workers to return full-time to offices, an order that's as part of an unprecedented series of steps aimed at shrinking the federal government.
FILE - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine introduces Ohio state senator and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Matt Dolan during a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, hoping to finally elect a parliament able to resolve the longtime political impasse that has gripped this Balkan country.
The snap vote follows the resignation of a conservative-led government amid nationwide protests last December that drew hundreds of thousands, mainly young people, to the streets. The protesters called for an independent judiciary to tackle widespread corruption.
Since 2021, the nation of 6.5 million has struggled with fragmented parliaments that produced weak governments, none of which managed to survive more than a year before being brought down by street protests or backroom deals in parliament.
The revolving door of governments has fostered widespread public mistrust, voter apathy and a shrinking turnout in elections.
Still, Sunday's vote is significant as it could bring to power a left-leaning, pro-Russian former president — just days after Hungarian voters rejected the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement of Viktor Orbán, who cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The front-runner, Bulgaria's former President Rumen Radev, is leading a newly formed, center-left Progressive Bulgaria coalition. He resigned from the mostly ceremonial presidency in January, a few months before the end of his second term, to launch a bid to lead the government as prime minister.
The 62-year-old former fighter pilot and air force commander is seen as Bulgaria’s most popular politician and has promised to give the nation a fresh start. His supporters are split on those hoping he will put an end to the country’s oligarchic corruption and those lining up behind his Eurosceptic and pro-Russian views.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., and are to close at 8 p.m., after which initial exit polls will be announced. Preliminary results are expected on Monday.
Bulgaria is a European Union and NATO member country, joined the eurozone on Jan. 1, shortly after entering the border-free Schengen travel area. However, it has been plagued by political instability since 2021, when three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigned following massive protests fueled by anger over widespread corruption and injustice.
Radev has cast himself as an opponent of the country’s entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians. At campaign rallies he vowed to “remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power.”
And though Radev has officially denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has repeatedly opposed military aid to Kyiv and has favored reopening talks with Russia as a way out of the conflict.
Opinion polls predict that Radev’s coalition could get more than 30% of the vote, putting him nearly 10% ahead of his closest rival — Borissov’s center-right GERB party. Most polls report margins of error from 3 to 3.5%.
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev casts his vote at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A supporter of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reacts during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Supporters of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev hold posters in the colors of the Bulgarian flag during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A print on the back of a jacket of a supporter depicts the former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is seen at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev delivers a speech at the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
