Bulgaria - June 2024

On 9 June, following the collapse of a nine-month coalition between the centre-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria-Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-UDF) and the centrist We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) in March, Bulgaria held its sixth parliamentary elections since 2021. The European Parliament elections were held on the same day. In the 240-seat unicameral parliament, GERB-UDF will hold 68 seats, centrist DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) will have 47 seats, PP-DB 39 seats, and the ultranationalist Revival will take 38 seats. Despite leading, this was GERB’s weakest electoral performance in its history, and the party will need at least two partners to form a government. Women secured 27 per cent of the parliamentary seats, slightly up from 25.4 per cent in the previous parliament. The trend of declining voter turnout continued, reaching a new low of 34.4 per cent, down from 39.1 per cent in 2023.

Sources: Euractiv, Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission, Dnevnik, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Al Jazeera, iKnow Politics, IPU, International IDEA

Update: ODIHR election observers noted that while the elections were competitive and basic freedoms were respected, they were held amid a context of declining public trust, political polarization, and malpractices that hindered transparency. 

Sources: OSCE/ODIHR