Politics of Bulgaria
The politics of Bulgaria take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic,[1] whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.
Bulgaria has generally good freedom of speech and human rights records as reported by the US Library of Congress Federal Research Division in 2006,[3] while Freedom House listed it as "free" in 2020, giving it scores of 33 for political rights and 45 for civil liberties.
In contemporary Bulgaria, the government and its leader - the Prime Minister, have more political influence and significance than the President.
The President dissolved the government and appointed a provisional one to serve until early parliamentary elections could be held in December.
The April 1997 elections resulted in a landslide victory for the SDS, winning a majority of 137 seats in parliament, and allowing them to form the next government.
The ruling party NDSV itself ruptured into a pro-right core and a pro-liberal fringe group.
[12] In the parliamentary elections of 2009, the centre-right party of Boyko Borisov, the mayor of Sofia, GERB, won with 117 seats.
[13] Once the governing party - the National Movement Simeon II did not amass enough votes to enter the parliament.
[14] The austerity measures required in the stagnation of the Great Recession led to massive protests and the resignation of the cabinet in early 2013, months before the end of GERB's term.
The socialist party chose the non-party former Minister of Finance Plamen Oresharski to form a cabinet.
[16] Only two weeks after its initial formation the Oresharski government came under criticism and had to deal with large-scale protests some with more than 11 000 participants.
[17] One of the main reasons for these protests was the controversial appointment of media mogul Delyan Peevski as a chief of the National Security State Agency.
With the support of the coalition partner (the Reformist Bloc) members of the parties in the Bloc (Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB), Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), Bulgaria for Citizens Movement (DBG) and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BZNS)) were chosen for Minister positions.
[31] All other parties refused to form a government,[32] and after a brief deadlock, another elections were called for July 2021, with Stefan Yanev serving as an interim prime minister of a caretaker cabinet until then.
In December 2021, Bulgaria's parliament formally elected Kiril Petkov as the country's next prime minister, ending a months-long political crisis.
[36] President Radev appointed Galab Donev as acting prime minister to lead a caretaker cabinet.
In June 2023, Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov formed a new coalition between We Continue The Change and GERB.
[42] In 2016 Socialist party candidate, former air force commander Rumen Radev won the presidential election.
[45] President Rumen Radev, a vocal critic and rival of prime minister Borisov, announced that he will run for a second five-year term in autumn 2021 presidential elections.
[46] In November 2021, President Rumen Radev was easily re-elected in the presidential election with a very low turnout of 34 per cent.
The President's main duties are to schedule elections and referendums, represent Bulgaria abroad, conclude international treaties, and head the Consultative Council for National Security.
The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies who are elected for 4-year-terms by popular vote.
Parliament is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements.
