2014 Bulgarian parliamentary election

2014 Bulgarian parliamentary election
	All 240 seats in the National Assembly ; 121 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	51.05% ( 1.42pp)
Georgi Bliznashki ; Independent; (Bliznashki Government)	Boyko Borisov ; GERB ; (Second Borisov Government)

Last updated December 07, 2024

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 5 October 2014 to elect the 43rd National Assembly.^[1] GERB remained the largest party, winning 84 of the 240 seats with around a third of the vote. A total of eight parties won seats, the first time since the beginning of democratic elections in 1990 that more than seven parties entered parliament.^[2] Boyko Borisov then became prime minister as head of a coalition with the Reformist Bloc and with outside support from the Patriotic Front and the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival.

Background

After the 2013 election, the seat distribution was such that the new coalition government, composed of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) and led by Plamen Oresharski, had only half the seats in Parliament, and thus prospects of holding early elections were significant. Also, the Oresharski cabinet was confronted by a series of protests starting on 14 June 2013, in response to the election of Delyan Peevski as head of the Bulgarian state security agency DANS (State Agency for National Security).^[3]^[4]^[5]

Following the setback suffered by the BSP in the European Parliament election, having picked up 18.94% of the popular vote (down from 26.6% in 2013), opposition parties called for early parliamentary elections. The leader of the DPS expressed his desire to have the government resign so that early elections can be scheduled for the end of 2014 or the middle of 2015.^[6]

On 10 June 2014 the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Sergei Stanishev, demanded the resignation of the government: "We cannot have the responsibility for the existence and actions of this government solely by ourselves."^[7] Following an agreement from the three largest parties (GERB, BSP and DPS) to hold early parliamentary elections for 5 October 2014,^[8] the cabinet was to resign by the end of July.^[9]

On Wednesday July 23, Oresharski's government submitted its resignation.^[10] The next day parliament voted 180–8 (8 abstained and 44 were absent) to accept the government's resignation.^[11] After each party refused to try to form a new government, on 6 August a caretaker government led by Georgi Bliznashki was sworn into office and the 42nd National Assembly was dissolved with an election date set for 5 October.^[1]

Campaign

Twenty-two parties and seven coalitions registered to run on election day before the deadline. Two parties were denied registration.^[12]

The election campaign started on 5 September.^[13]

Opinion polls

Pre election campaign

Pre election campaign polls
Source	Date	GERB	BSP	DPS	Attack	RB	BBT	PF	ABV	Others	Total
Sova Haris	21 July 2013	16.9%	19.3%	7.8%	2.3%	3.9%	–	2.3%	–	1.8%	54.3%
Alpha Research	27 August 2013	15.6%	18.4%	5.8%	1.5%	7.6%	–	3.1%	–	21.6%	73.6%
Alpha Research	25 September 2013	15.6%	17.9%	5.8%	1.5%	7.6%	–	3.1%	–	21.6%	73.6%
Institute for Modern Politics	28 September 2013	16.6%	18.5%	5.8%	1.4%	5.6%	–	1.9%	–	16.5%	66.3%
AFIS	29 September 2013	19.9%	21.2%	6.5%	2.5%	3.3%		2.8%	–	7.8%	64.0%
Sova Haris	24 October 2013	19.5%	21.7%	5.3%	2.0%	3.8%	2.4%	1.9%	–	0.7%	57.3%
Alpha Research	31 October 2013	16.5%	16.9%	6.1%	3.0%	6.4%	–	2.6%	–	8.2%	59.7%
Institute for Modern Politics	10 November 2013	26.2%	26.2%	8.1%	1.3%	8.2%	6.1%	1.9%	–	–	78.0%
Mediana	18 November 2013	16.9%	22.8%	7.6%	2.8%	8.6%	4.3%	2.9%	–	2.9%	68.8%
Gallup	19 November 2013	18.1%	21.4%	5.9%	2.4%	6.7%	–	–	–	–	54.5%
Sova Haris	4 December 2013	16.3%	21.3%	5.5%	2.7%	4.3%	3.0%	1.3%	–	1.2%	55.6%
Alpha Research	8 December 2013	15.8%	16.5%	6.1%	2.7%	6.9%	–	3.5%	–	9.7%	61.2%
AFIS	12 December 2013	18%	22%	5%	2%	5%	3%	1%	–	10%	66%
Focus	13 December 2013	23.5%	22.3%	5.5%	2.7%	5.8%	3%	3%	–	–	65.8%
Institute for Modern Politics	17 December 2013	21.0%	21.2%	4.8%	1.9%	4.8%	5.0%	1.9%	–	–	60.6%
Gallup	18 December 2013	18.0%	22.8%	6.1%	1.8%	4.8%	2.1%	1.6%	–	3.5%	60.7%
Sova Haris	15 January 2014	18.4%	19.5%	6.8%	2.3%	4.2%	3.0%	1.5%	–	0.8%	56.5%
Gallup	16 January 2014	18.1%	21.6%	5.8%	1.5%	4.8%	2.5%	2.1%	–	3.5%	59.9%
Modern Institute for Politics	31 January 2014	19.8%	20.5%	4.3%	1.6%	4.5%	5.6%	1.5%	1.0%	4.0%	62.8%
Gallup	13 March 2014	19.9%	19.0%	6.0%	2.5%	3.6%	4.9%	1.8%	1.8%	–	59.6%
Sova Haris	25 March 2014	21.7%	22.3%	7.6%	2.3%	3.1%	7.0%	0.9%	2.6%	0.7%	68.2%
Sova Haris	28 April 2014	17.2%	19.8%	6.6%	2.2%	3.8%	6.0%	1.8%	2.4%	0.4%	60.2%
Center for Analysis and Marketing	30 April 2014	19.7%	16.0%	8.2%	–	4.8%	4.6%	–	–	–	53.3%
Focus	23 May 2014	24%	26%	12.5%	4.5%	5.5%	9.5%	4.5%	–	–	86.5%
Sova Haris	21 July 2014	23%	15.2%	8%	1.3%	4%	–	1%	2.7%	–	55.2%
Modern Institute for Politics	25 July 2014	27.2%	13.5%	7.3%	2.4%	4.5%	6.0%	2.4%	4.0%	4.9%	72.2%
Gallup	14 August 2014	23.4%	15.9%	7.8%	1.7%	4.2%	4.7%	3.1%	2.4%	2.9	66.1%
AFIS	24 August 2014	31.3%	22.7%	10.1%	3.2%	6.3%	4.5%	4.1%	4.9%	12.9%	100%
Sova Haris	30 August 2014	43.2%	31.4%	11%	–	7.1%	7.3%	–	–	–	100%
Mediana	1 September 2014	26.8%	17.5%	9.2%	3.7%	4.4%	4.7%	4.3%	3.3%	–	73.9%
Source	Date	GERB	BSP	DPS	Attack	RB	BBT	PF	ABV	Others	Total

Election campaign

Source	Date	GERB	BSP	DPS	Attack	RB	BBT	PF	ABV	Others	Total
Gallup	18 September 2014	35.9%	18.3%	14.2%	3.4%	5.6%	5.8%	4.9%	3.6%	8.3%	100.0%
Alpha Research	1 October 2014	34.1%	19.1%	15.4%	-	6%	6%	4.2%	-	-	84.8%

Results



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	GERB	1,072,491	32.67	+2.1	84	–13
	BSP - Left Bulgaria	505,527	15.40	–11.2	39	–45
	Movement for Rights and Freedoms	487,134	14.84	+3.5	38	+2
	Reformist Bloc	291,806	8.89	+1.1	23	+23
	Patriotic Front	239,101	7.28	+1.7	19	+19
	Bulgaria Without Censorship	186,938	5.69	New	15	New
	Attack	148,262	4.52	–2.8	11	–12
	Alternative for Bulgarian Revival	136,223	4.15	New	11	New
	Movement 21	39,221	1.19	New	0	New
	People's Voice	37,335	1.14	–0.2	0	0
	The Greens	19,990	0.61	–0.1	0	0
	Republic BG	18,901	0.58	New	0	New
	New Bulgaria	12,628	0.38	New	0	New
	New Alternative	11,583	0.35	–0.2	0	0
	United Bulgaria	10,831	0.33	New	0	New
	Bulgarian Social Democracy	9,431	0.29	New	0	New
	National Movement for Stability and Progress	7,917	0.24	New	0	New
	Party of the Greens	7,456	0.23	New	0	New
	The Rights	7,234	0.22	New	0	New
	Left and the Green Party	7,010	0.21	–0.0	0	0
	Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy	5,559	0.17	New	0	New
	New Force	5,553	0.17	New	0	New
	Social Democratic Party	5,398	0.16	+0.1	0	0
	Community for New Bulgaria	4,615	0.14	New	0	New
	New Time	3,836	0.12	New	0	New
	Independents	1,185	0.04	New	0	New
Total		3,283,165	100.00	–	240	0

Valid votes		3,283,165	93.77
Invalid/blank votes		218,125	6.23
Total votes		3,501,290	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,858,304	51.05
Source: CIK

Voter demographics

Gallup exit polling suggested the following demographic breakdown. The parties which received below 4% of the vote are included in 'Others':

Voter demographics^[14]
Social group	% GERB	% BSP	% DPS	% RB	% PF	% BBT	% Ataka	% ABV	% Others	% Lead
Social group									% Others	% Lead
Exit Poll Result	34	16	12	9.5	6	6	5	5	6.5	18
Final Result	32.7	15.4	14.8	8.9	7.3	5.7	4.5	4.2	6.5	17.3
Gender
Men	34	14	13	9	7	6	7	4	6	18
Women	35	17	11	10	6	6	3	5	7	18
Age
18–30	35	8	16	12	5	7	4	3	10	19
30-60	37	13	12	12	6	6	5	5	4	24
60+	26	35	8	6	7	3	6	5	4	9
Highest Level of Education
Lower Education	19	21	35	3	4	6	6	1	5	14
Secondary Education	36	16	12	7	7	7	5	4	6	20
Higher Education	37	15	2	15	7	4	4	6	10	22
Ethnic Group
Bulgarian	38	17	1	11	8	6	6	5	8	21
Turkic	6	2	84	3	0	1	0	1	3	78
Roma	20	22	36	3	1	8	4	1	5	14
Location
Towns and Villages	24	18	31	4	3	6	6	4	4	7
Smaller Cities	32	19	7	8	7	8	6	4	9	13
Larger Cities	41	13	4	10	8	6	5	5	8	28
Sofia	36	15	1	21	6	2	4	6	9	15

Reactions

Following his party's election victory, Borisov stated that his party would try to form the next government and that he "want[s] to govern, in person".^[15]

Government formation

The newly elected Assembly met for the first time on 27 October.^[16]

After being tasked by President Rosen Plevneliev to form a government, Borisov's GERB allied with the Reformist Bloc to form a government and also had the outside support of the Patriotic Front and the Alternative for Bulgarian Revival. The cabinet of twenty ministers was approved by a majority of 136-97 (with one abstention).^[17] Borisov was then chosen as prime minister by an even larger vote of 149-85.^[18]

Related Research Articles

The politics of Bulgaria take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), also known as The Centenarian, is a centre-left, social democratic political party in Bulgaria. The BSP is a member of the Socialist International, Party of European Socialists, and Progressive Alliance. Although founded in 1990 in its modern form, it traces its political heritage back to the founding of the BRSDP in 1891. It is also Bulgaria's largest party by membership numbers.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms is a centrist political party in Bulgaria with a support base among ethnic minority communities. It was a member of the Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). While representing the interests of Muslims, especially Turks and to a lesser extent Pomaks, the party also receives the largest share of Romani votes.

Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev is a Bulgarian politician who served Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Socialist Party, which he led from 2001 to 2014, he later served as Member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2024. Stanishev was also the President of the European Socialists from 2011 to 2022 and a Member of the National Assembly from 1997 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2014.

The history of Bulgaria from 1990 to the present is the period of Bulgarian history that begins after the fall of Communism and the transition to a market economy.

The eighty-ninth cabinet of Bulgaria, also known as the Three-party coalition cabinet and the Stanishev Government, ruled from August 17, 2005, to July 27, 2009. The cabinet was formed with the coalition of the three leading at that time: BSP, NDSV and DPS, in order of their parliamentary representation. Their parliamentary representation also determined the number of cabinet appointments.

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 5 July 2009. With 40% of the vote, the decisive winner of the elections was the established in 2006 personalistic party of Boyko Borisov, GERB. The Socialist Party, in power before the election, was in second place, with around 18%. Оnce-ruling National Movement Simeon II did not cross the 4% threshold and won no seats. The turnout was 60.6%, one of the lowest ever. Following the election, GERB leader Boyko Borisov became prime minister. Just like all the previous parliamentary elections since the fall of communism, the government was not re-elected.

Rosen Asenov Plevneliev is a Bulgarian politician who served as the 4th President of Bulgaria from 2012 to 2017. Affiliated with the GERB party, he previously served as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works from 2009 to 2011.

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 12 May 2013, two months ahead of schedule. Protests had forced the resignation of the GERB government in February, leading to the election being moved up.

An election of the Members of the European Parliament from Bulgaria to the European Parliament was held on 25 May 2014 as part of the larger European Parliament election. After a decision by the European Council in 2013, Bulgaria was allocated 17 seats in the European Parliament for the Eighth European Parliament.

Plamen Vasilev Oresharski is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2013 to 2016. Affiliated with the Bulgarian Socialist Party, he previously served as Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2013, Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009 and Deputy Minister of Finance from 1997 to 2001.

From mid-2013 to mid-2014, a series of demonstrations were held in Bulgaria, mainly in the capital Sofia, against the left-wing coalition cabinet of Oresharski. The demonstrations started on 28 May 2013, but actual large-scale protests did not emerge until 14 June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mihail Mikov</span>

Mihail Raykov Mikov is a Bulgarian politician who was Chairman of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) from 2014 to 2016. He is a parliamentarian with six consecutive terms as a deputy in the National Assembly. His career in the legislature culminated in his election as Chairman of the 42nd National Assembly on May 21, 2013. Mikov was Minister of Interior from 24 April 2008 to 29 July 2009 in Sergei Stanishev's government. Currently he is the leader of the Parliamentary Group of BSP Left Bulgaria in the 43rd National Assembly, the coalition led by the socialist party. Mihail Mikov was elected as Chairman of the BSP on 27 July 2014, succeeding Sergei Stanishev. He won a run-off against outgoing Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev with a final tally of 377-333.

The Oresharski Government was the ninety-second cabinet of Bulgaria which took office on 29 May 2013. The government, led by Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, is one of technocrats created following the 2013 election. The cabinet was dissolved on 6 August 2014 to make way for a caretaker government that would lead Bulgaria through early elections in October of the same year.

The ninety-fourth Cabinet of Bulgaria took office on November 7, 2014. It was a coalition government chaired by Boyko Borisov. The government was formed after Borisov's party, GERB, won the 2014 parliamentary election. As GERB won 84 out of the 240 seats in the National Assembly, they were compelled to form a coalition to legally govern.

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 26 March 2017. They had originally been scheduled for 2018 at the end of the four-year term of the National Assembly. However, following the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the failure of Bulgarian parties to form a government, early elections were called. Borisov resigned following the defeat of Tsetska Tsacheva, the candidate of his GERB party, in the November 2016 presidential elections. The official election campaign began on 24 February.

General elections were held in Bulgaria on 14 November 2021 to elect both the President and the National Assembly. They were the country's third parliamentary elections in 2021, with no party able to form a government after the elections in April and July. A second round of the presidential elections were held on 21 November 2021 as no candidate was able to receive a majority of the vote in the first round.

We Continue the Change, sometimes translated as Change Continues, is a centrist, anti-corruption political party and formerly an electoral alliance in Bulgaria led by Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev, two former caretaker ministers. It was founded ahead of the November 2021 election. The party was officially registered on 15 April.

Early parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 2 April 2023 to elect members of the National Assembly. These were initially scheduled to be held before November 2026; however, as no government was approved by the 48th Parliament, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced in January 2023 that he would call a snap election.

The Bulgarian political crisis is a period of instability in Bulgaria, which has seen the country face seven parliamentary elections over four years: April 2021, July 2021, November 2021, October 2022, April 2023, June 2024 and October 2024.

References

1 2 "Bulgaria's 42nd Parliament Dissolved, Elections on October 5". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
↑ Petrov, Angel. "Bulgaria's Grand Parliament Chessboard Might Be Both Ailment and Cure". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
↑ Bulgarians protests over media magnate as security chief, Reuters, 14 June 2013
↑ Thousands Rally in Bulgaria against Election of Shady Mogul for 'FBI' Head, Novinite, 14 June 2013
↑ (in Bulgarian) Protester says things could change for better (video) Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine , bgnes, 14 June 2013
↑ "Bulgarian Co-ruling Party DPS Calls for Early Elections by end-2014". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
↑ "BSP Leader Stanishev Demands Government Resignation, July Elections". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
↑ "President Plevneliev Urges Outgoing Parliament to Review Budget". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
↑ "Bulgarian Gov't to Resign between July 23, 25 - PM Oresharski". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
↑ "Bulgaria's PM Plamen Oresharski Resigns". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
↑ "Bulgarian Parliament Approves Government Resignation". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
↑ "Seven Coalitions, 22 Parties to Run in Bulgaria's Early Elections". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Elections Campaign in Bulgaria To Start On Friday". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
↑ "Демографски профили на вота – 12 July". Галъп интернешънъл (in Bulgarian). 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
↑ Sturdee, Simon. "Deflated Bulgarian strongman vows to form government". news.yahoo.com. Yahoo - ABC News Network. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
↑ Bulgaria's 43th[sic] National Assembly to be inaugurated todayКопирано от standartnews.com Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Standart, 27 October 2014
↑ "Bulgarian MPs Approve New Cabinet, Ministers Sworn In". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
↑ "Bulgaria's Parliament Approves New Government". abcnews.go.com. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved 7 November 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Sofia_News_Agency-1] 1 2 "Bulgaria's 42nd Parliament Dissolved, Elections on October 5". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 9 August 2014.

[2] Petrov, Angel. "Bulgaria's Grand Parliament Chessboard Might Be Both Ailment and Cure". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 7 October 2014.

[reuters-3] Bulgarians protests over media magnate as security chief, Reuters, 14 June 2013

[4] Thousands Rally in Bulgaria against Election of Shady Mogul for 'FBI' Head, Novinite, 14 June 2013

[bgnes1-5] (in Bulgarian) Protester says things could change for better (video) Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine , bgnes, 14 June 2013

[6] "Bulgarian Co-ruling Party DPS Calls for Early Elections by end-2014". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 5 June 2014.

[Resign-7] "BSP Leader Stanishev Demands Government Resignation, July Elections". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 10 June 2014.

[8] "President Plevneliev Urges Outgoing Parliament to Review Budget". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

[9] "Bulgarian Gov't to Resign between July 23, 25 - PM Oresharski". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 9 July 2014.

[10] "Bulgaria's PM Plamen Oresharski Resigns". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 25 July 2014.

[11] "Bulgarian Parliament Approves Government Resignation". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 25 July 2014.

[12] "Seven Coalitions, 22 Parties to Run in Bulgaria's Early Elections". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2014.

[13] "Elections Campaign in Bulgaria To Start On Friday". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2014.

[14] "Демографски профили на вота – 12 July". Галъп интернешънъл (in Bulgarian). 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2014-06-10.

[15] Sturdee, Simon. "Deflated Bulgarian strongman vows to form government". news.yahoo.com. Yahoo - ABC News Network. Retrieved 6 October 2014.

[16] Bulgaria's 43th[sic] National Assembly to be inaugurated todayКопирано от standartnews.com Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Standart, 27 October 2014

[17] "Bulgarian MPs Approve New Cabinet, Ministers Sworn In". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 7 November 2014.

[18] "Bulgaria's Parliament Approves New Government". abcnews.go.com. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved 7 November 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

v t e Elections and referendums in Bulgaria
Parliamentary elections	1879 (Jan) 1879 (Sep-Oct) 1880 1881 1882 1884 1886 1887 1890 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Jul) 1894 1896 1899 1901 1902 1903 1908 1911 (Jun) 1911 (Sep) 1913 1914 1919 1920 1923 (Apr) 1923 (Nov) 1927 1931 1938 1939 1945 1946 1949 1953 1957 1962 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1990 1991 1994 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2014 2017 2021 (Apr) 2021 (Jul) 2021 (Nov) 2022 2023 2024 (Jun) 2024 (Oct)
Presidential elections	1992 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 2026
Local elections	1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
European elections	2007 2009 2014 2019 2024
Eastern Rumelia elections	1879 1884
Referendums	1922 1946 1971 2013 2015 2016