Elections in Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections are due in June 25, 2005. The basic power in the Parliamentary Republic is the legislative one, exercised by the Parliament (The National Assembly). It is unicameral and consists of 240 members, elected directly by the voters for a four-year term, on the basis of the proportional representation. For the parties and the pre-election coalitions to enter the National Assembly, they must collect at least 4% of the total number of votes at the elections.

Currently the ruling party Simeon II National Movement has the largest grouping in the assembly, followed by the Coalition for Bulgaria, led by the Bulgarian Socialist Party. The United Democratic Forces, comprising MPs who left the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) early in 2004 to found Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, comes third; the predominantly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms follows next. These outnumber the UDF and the New Time group, the parliamentary group of the agrarian People’s Union and the Democratic Party, and the independent MPs.