Bulgaria - March 2025
Seat counts in Parliament change after Constitutional Court ordered recount
On 13 March, following a legal challenge to the October election that led to a recount and a four-month investigation, the Constitutional Court ruled that the election of 17 MPs from different parties was illegal due to voting irregularities, including forged votes. The ruling granted the pro-Russian Velichie party 10 seats, which had initially fallen short of the four per cent threshold to enter Parliament (by 20 votes). The leading GERB-UDF group lost three seats, dropping from 69 to 66. This has left the ruling coalition, which took office in January 2025, with a narrow majority of 121 seats (down from 126) in the 240-seat legislature. Women secured 51 seats (21.3 per cent), a decrease from the 64 seats (26.7 per cent) held in the previous mandate. The Court stated that earlier sabotage by the prosecutor’s office had delayed its decision. This sparked protests over election fraud, fueled by allegations that the Sofia Prosecution had hidden evidence of fraud and, together with the Central Election Commission, tried to prevent the recount.
Sources: Svobodna Evropa, Central Election Commission, Euronews, Balkan Insight, Sofia Globe, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court, International IDEA
