April 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election

April 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election

←  2017 4 April 2021 (2021-04-04) July 2021  →
All 240 seats in the National Assembly 121 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	49.10% ( 3.47pp)
Party Leader % Seats +/– GERB–SDS Boyko Borisov 25.80 75 -20 ITN Slavi Trifonov 17.40 51 New BSPzB Korneliya Ninova 14.79 43 -37 DPS Mustafa Karadayi 10.36 30 +4 DB A. Atanasov & H. Ivanov 9.31 27 +27 IBG-NI M. Manolova & N. Hadjigenov 4.65 14 New Strongest party in each electoral district Distribution of seats by electoral district Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Boyko Borisov GERB Stefan Yanev Independent

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 4 April 2021 at the end of the term of National Assembly members elected in 2017. ^[1] Parties in the governing coalition led by Boyko Borisov lost seats and no party leader was able to form a coalition government within the time limit. This triggered the July 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election.

Background

Main articles: 2021–2023 Bulgarian political crisis and 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests

Electoral system

The 240 members of the National Assembly are elected by open list proportional representation from 31 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from 4 to 16 seats. The electoral threshold is 4% for parties, with seats allocated using the largest remainder method. ^[2]

Parties and coalitions

The incumbent government was a coalition between the conservative GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the nationalist United Patriots alliance (formed from IMRO, Attack and the NFSB), with the support of the populist Volya Movement. Together they held 132 out of 240 seats in the National Assembly.

During The Greens' 2020 national meeting, the party representatives voted in favor of a coalition at "the next parliamentary election with the other two members of Democratic Bulgaria". The party representatives voted against a "coalition with any of the political parties in the current National Assembly" - namely, GERB, BSP, DPS, Volya and OP. ^[3]

The deputy chairman of ITN, Toshko Yordanov, said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, that the party "will not enter a coalition with GERB, DPS or BSP". ^[4]

The cochairman of Democratic Bulgaria, Hristo Ivanov, stated in an interview for bTV, that "there will be no coalition with GERB, whether with or without Borisov". ^[5]

The chairman of Bulgaria for Citizens Movement, Dimitar Delchev, announced that his party was joining Stand Up.BG during a public presentation of the citizens' platform at Slaveykov Square, in August 2020. ^[6] The same was done by the chairman of Volt Bulgaria - Nastimir Ananiev, ^[7] as well as the chairman of the party Movement 21 - Tatyana Doncheva. ^[8] The citizens' organization The System Kills Us announced their support for Nikola Vaptsarov as their representative within Stand Up.BG. ^[7]

List

When only some of the leaders of a coalition are its official representatives, their names are in bold. All lines with a light gray background indicate support for a party or coalition that has been agreed upon outside of the official CEC electoral registration.

Name					Ideology	Leader(s)	2017 result		Seats at dissolution
							Votes (%)	Seats
	GERB—SDS		GERB	Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria	Conservatism Populism	Boyko Borisov	32.65	95 / 240	94 / 240
			SDS	Union of Democratic Forces	Conservatism Christian democracy	Rumen Hristov
			DEN	Movement for the Unity of the People	Turkish minority interests	Mehmed Dikme
	BSP for Bulgaria		BSP	Bulgarian Socialist Party	Social democracy Democratic socialism	Korneliya Ninova	27.19	80 / 240	69 / 240
			NZ	New Dawn	Left-wing nationalism	Mincho Minchev
			CPB	Communist Party of Bulgaria	Communism Marxism–Leninism	Aleksandar Paunov
			–	Ecoglasnost	Green politics Environmentalism	Emil Georgiev
			Trakiya	Trakiya Political Club	Bulgarian nationalism	Stefan Nachev
	VMRO		IMRO– BNM	IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement	Bulgarian ultranationalism National conservatism	Krasimir Karakachanov	9.07 (OP)	12 / 240	13 / 240
			ROD	Association „ROD International“	Conservatism	David Alexandrov
			SEK	Middle European Class	Pro-Europeanism	Georgi Manev
			SPSZ	Union of Patriotic Forces "Defense"	Bulgarian nationalism	Petar Beron
			ZS-AS	Agrarian Union "Aleksandar Stamboliyski"	Agrarianism Progressivism	Spas Panchev
	Ataka			Attack	Bulgarian ultranationalism Right-wing populism	Volen Siderov	9.07 (OP)	6 / 240	6 / 240
	DPS			Movement for Rights and Freedoms	Liberalism Turkish minority interests	Mustafa Karadayi	8.99	26 / 240	25 / 240
	Patriotic Coalition Volya–NFSB		Volya	Volya Movement	Right-wing populism Anti-establishment	Veselin Mareshki	4.15	21 / 240	21 / 240
			NFSB	National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria	Bulgarian nationalism National conservatism	Valeri Simeonov
			OSD	United Social Democracy	Social democracy	Jordan Gergov
			BSDP	Bulgarian Social Democratic Party	Social democracy	Jordan Nihrizov
			CDP	Christian Democratic Party of Bulgaria	Christian democracy	Irina Arabadzhieva
			RDP	Radical Democratic Party in Bulgaria	Liberalism	Zahari Petrov
			BDSR	Bulgarian Democratic Union "Radicals"	Agrarianism Conservatism	Tsvetan Manchev
			BZNS	Bulgarian Agrarian National Union	Agrarianism Centrism	Nikolay Nenchev
			SBDR	Association "Bulgarian Homemade Brandy"	Farmers' rights	Petko Sabev
	GN			People's Voice	Eurorealism Populism	Svetoslav Vitkov	3.06 (RB)	0 / 240	0 / 240
	DB		DSB	Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria	National liberalism Pro-Europeanism	Atanas Atanasov	3.06 (RB)	0 / 240	0 / 240
			DaB!	Yes, Bulgaria!	Anti-corruption Civic engagement	Hristo Ivanov	2.88
			ZD	Green Movement	Green politics Green liberalism	Borislav Sandov Vladislav Panev
			DEN	Dignity of United People	Liberalism	Naiden Zelenogorski
	ABV			Alternative for Bulgarian Revival	Social democracy Social conservatism	Rumen Petkov	1.55	0 / 240	0 / 240
	Revival			Revival	Bulgarian nationalism Anti-corruption	Kostadin Kostadinov	1.08	0 / 240	0 / 240
	Greens			Party of the Greens	Green politics Anti-capitalism	Vladimir Nikolov	0.29	0 / 240	0 / 240
	Together for Change		BSDE	Bulgarian Social Democracy – EuroLeft	Social democracy Third Way	Aleksandar Tomov Dimitar Mitev	0.17 (KN)	0 / 240	0 / 240
			ESI	European Security and Integration	Romani minority interests Social democracy	Toma Tomov
			R 2000	Patriotism 2000	Patriotism	Julian Ivanov
	BNO		BNO	Bulgarian National Unification	Bulgarian nationalism	Georgi Georgiev	0.11	0 / 240	0 / 240
			GPBL	Civic Platform „Bulgarian Summer“	Populism	Boris Sokolov
	Citizens of Protest		BL	Bulgarian Left	Socialism Democratic socialism	Boyan Kirov	0.08	0 / 240	0 / 240
			KOY	Competence, Responsibility and Truth	Right-wing [9]	Svetozar Saev
			BZP	Bulgarian Agrarian Party	Agrarianism	Peycho Kasarov
			SKB	Union of Communists in Bulgaria	Communism Marxism	Pavel Ivanov
	We, the Citizens		KtB	Coalition For you Bulgaria	Pro-Europeanism Centre-right	Valeri Grigorov	–	0 / 240	0 / 240
			BDO	Bulgarian Democratic Union	Christian democracy	Gospodin Tonev	–
	BNU–ND			Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy	Neo-Nazism Racism Hard Euroscepticism	Boris Ivanov Bogdan Yotsov	–	0 / 240	0 / 240
	KOD			Conservative Union of the Right	National conservatism	Petar Moskov	–		0 / 240
	BPL			Bulgarian Progressive Line	Democratic socialism Progressivism	Krassimir Yankov	–		5 / 240
	VO			Revival of the Fatherland	Conservatism Russophilia	Nikolay Malinov	–		0 / 240
	Nation			Nation	Right-wing populism Hard euroscepticism [10]	Kiril Gumnerov	–		0 / 240
	MIR			Morality, Initiative and Patriotism	Conservatism	Simeon Slavchev	–		0 / 240
	ISMV		D21	Movement 21	Social democracy Environmentalism	Tatyana Doncheva	–		0 / 240
			DBG	Bulgaria for Citizens Movement	Centrism	Dimitar Delchev
			ENP	United People's Party	Liberalism Pro-Europeanism	Valentina Vasileva-Filadelfevs
			IS.BG	Stand Up.BG	Anti-corruption Anti-elitism	Maya Manolova
			OT	Poisonous Trio and Citizens	Direct democracy Populism	Nikolay Hadzhigenov
			VOLT	Volt Bulgaria	Pro-Europeanism European federalism	Nastimir Ananiev
			DNES	Movement for National Unity and Salvation	Social liberalism	Angelica Tsokova
			ZNS	Agrarian People's Union	Agrarianism	Rumen Yonche
	DNK			Movement of Independent Candidates	Populism [11]	Boyko Mladenov Boyko Nikiforov Mincho Kuminev Ognyan Boyukliev	–		0 / 240
	RzB			Republicans for Bulgaria	Conservatism Economic liberalism	Tsvetan Tsvetanov	–		1 / 240
	Pravoto			Rights, Reforms, Alternative, Opportunities, Responsibility, Tolerance and Unity	Populism	Maria Koleva	–		0 / 240
	BOG			Prosperity, Unification, Constructiveness	Patriotism	Ivan Gaberov	–		0 / 240
	ONB		ONB	Society for New Bulgaria	Conservatism	Kalin Krulev	–		0 / 240
			ZM	NGO "Green Mladost"	Green politics	Desislava Ivancheva
	BSDD			Bulgarian Union for Direct Democracy	Direct democracy	Georgi Nedelchev	–		0 / 240
	ITN			There Is Such A People	Populism Direct democracy	Slavi Trifonov	–		0 / 240
	PD			Direct Democracy	Direct democracy	Peter Klisarov	–		0 / 240
	Independents [12]			–	–	–	0.15	0 / 240	19 / 240

Opinion polls

The opinion poll results below were recalculated from the original data and exclude pollees that chose 'I will not vote' or 'I am uncertain'.

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Margin of error	GERB	BSP	DPS	OP [lower-alpha 1]	DB	Volya	ITN	ISMV	Others / None	Lead
Alpha Research (voters)	26 Feb–1 Mar 2021	1,013	–	28.5% [lower-alpha 2]	23.2%	12.5%	3.7% [lower-alpha 3]	5.7%	1.8% [lower-alpha 4]	13.3%	4.5%	6.8%	5.3%
Mediana	22–26 Feb 2021	943	–	27.5% [lower-alpha 2]	24.2%	10.7%	4.0% [lower-alpha 3]	4.2%	3.1% [lower-alpha 4]	15.2%	5.0%	6.1%	3.3%
Market Links (voters)	17–24 Feb 2021	1,019	–	24.6% [lower-alpha 2]	18.9%	8.5%	2.7% [lower-alpha 3]	7.6%	–	13.0%	3.9%	20.8%	5.7%
Trend (voters)	12–19 Feb 2021	1,008	± 3.1%	28.9% [lower-alpha 2]	24.1%	11.1%	3.8% [lower-alpha 3]	6.2%	2.6% [lower-alpha 4]	12.9%	4.0%	6.4%	4.8%
Gallup (voters)	4–12 Feb 2021	1,011	± 3.1%	25.8% [lower-alpha 2]	21.9%	12.4%	4.2% [lower-alpha 3]	6.8%	2.7% [lower-alpha 4]	13.1%	4.7%	8.4%	3.9%
Market Links (voters)	23–31 Jan 2021	500	–	28.6%	20.9%	11.9%	3.4%	10.7%	–	15.5%	5.3%	3.8%	7.7%
Market Links (all)	23–31 Jan 2021	1,000	–	25.5%	22.5%	11.2%	4.3%	8%	–	18.1%	6.6%	3.8%	3%
Trend (voters)	12–19 Jan 2021	1,008	± 3.1%	27.6%	24.9%	10.3%	4%	6%	1.3%	11.8%	4.1%	10%	2.7%
Gallup (voters)	7–15 Jan 2021	1,010	± 3.1%	25.6% [lower-alpha 2]	21.4%	12.2%	5.1%	6.9%	2.3%	13.8%	5%	7.6%	4.2%
Alpha Research (voters)	15–21 Dec 2020	504	–	29%	26.2%	8.6%	3.2%	7.3%	–	12.2%	5.9%	7.6%	2.8%
Mediana	12–17 Dec 2020	954	–	24.2%	25.7%	10.8%	4.7%	3.4%	1.6%	17%	4.8%	7.8%	1.5%
Exacta	5–12 Dec 2020	1,025	–	28.8%	25.6%	8.4%	5.4%	6%	–	14%	3.7%	8.1%	3.2%
Barometer	24–29 Nov 2020	847	–	33.5%	20.8%	13.2%	12.7%	5.2%	1.2%	6.2%	2.5%	4.8%	12.7%
Barometer	6–11 Nov 2020	882	–	33.6%	21.6%	12.3%	12%	5.1%	1.1%	6.1%	2.6%	5.7%	12%
Sova Harris	27 Oct–3 Nov 2020	1,000	± 3.1%	26.6% [lower-alpha 2]	25.1%	8.7%	5.5%	8.4%	3.2%	11.4%	5.7%	5.4%	1.5%
Rego (voters)	21–27 Oct 2020	2,000	–	27.1%	26.3%	8.3%	2.8%	7.6%	1.1%	18.6%	3.9%	4.3%	0.8%
Specter (voters)	12–16 Oct 2020	1,016	–	22.9%	21.8%	10.4%	3.4%	12.2%	0.8%	16.1%	3.5%	8.9%	1.1%
Barometer	10–16 Oct 2020	866	–	32.7%	23.6%	12.4%	11.3%	4.7%	1.1%	6.1%	2.7%	5.3%	9.1%
Trend (voters)	3–10 Oct 2020	1,008	± 3.1%	24.1%	23.6%	10.2%	3.8%	8.8%	1.6%	15.9%	3.9%	8.1%	0.5%
Gallup	1–9 Oct 2020	803	± 3.5%	19.1%	19.8%	10.1%	3.4%	7.3%	2.6%	12.6%	3.7%	21.4%	0.7%
Alpha Research (voters)	21–30 Sep 2020	1,031	–	22.8%	21.8%	11%	4.2%	10.5%	0.3%	16.6%	5.1%	7.7%	1%
Market Links (voters) [lower-alpha 5]	18–26 Sep 2020	544	–	27.4%	27.2%	9.9%	2.7%	11.8%	–	13.5%	3.1%	4.4%	0.2%
Market Links (all)	18–26 Sep 2020	1,058	–	24.6%	25.5%	11.7%	2.8%	10%	–	17%	4.2%	4.2%	0.9%
Gallup	3–11 Sep 2020	807	± 3.5%	18.6%	19%	10.7%	3.8%	7.3%	2.5%	11.7%	3.1%	22.6%	0.4%
Trend (voters)	29 Aug–5 Sep 2020	1,008	± 3.1%	23.8%	23.4%	10.4%	3.9%	9.9%	1.2%	15.9%	4%	7.5%	0.4%
Sova Harris	19–25 Aug 2020	1,000	± 3.1%	27.7% [lower-alpha 2]	24.5%	9.2%	4.4%	7%	3%	15.7%	4.5%	4%	3.2%
Barometer	3–11 Aug 2020	842	–	38.9%	18.9%	12.2%	11.7%	4.8%	1.7%	5.3%	1.9%	4.5%	20%
Trend (voters)	3–10 Aug 2020	1,010	± 3.1%	24.2%	22.9%	9.8%	4.1%	10.1%	1.2%	14.9%	4.4%	8.4%	1.3%
Gallup	30 Jul–7 Aug 2020	811	± 3.5%	20%	19.1%	9.4%	3.2%	7.9%	2.2%	10.9%	3.3%	24.1%	0.9%
CAM	1–5 Aug 2020	1,021	± 3.1%	30.1% [lower-alpha 2]	19.7%	10.8%	4.3%	10.1%	2.1%	13.9%	5%	3.9%	10.4%
Market Links (voters)	28 Jul–3 Aug 2020	573	–	26.3%	24.7%	10.5%	5%	12.8%	–	13.8%	2.5%	4.5%	1.6%
Market Links (all)	28 Jul–3 Aug 2020	1,093	–	23.3%	20.7%	9.6%	4.6%	10.1%	–	23%	4%	4.7%	0.3%
Gallup	Jul 2020	–	± 3.5%	27.4%	25.7%	8.5%	4.4%	3.2%	2.4%	8.6%	1.8%	17.9%	1.7%
Alpha Research	23–30 Jul 2020	1,017	–	26.7%	19.2%	8.3%	4.1%	12.3%	0.9%	18.8%	5.9%	3.9%	7.5%
Sova Harris	26 Jun–1 Jul 2020	1,000	–	37.4%	21.4%	7.7%	7.5%	4.2%	4.2%	9.1%	2.6%	5.8%	16%
Gallup	Jun 2020	–	± 3.5%	29%	23.1%	7.9%	3.8%	3.2%	2.4%	7%	2.4%	21.3%	5.9%
Barometer	20–25 Jun 2020	828	–	37.5%	20.4%	11.2%	10.1%	3.4%	1.5%	3.8%	1.7%	10.5%	17.1%
Market Links (voters)	27 May–3 Jun 2020	483	–	34.1%	25.6%	9.8%	3.7% [lower-alpha 6]	8.5%	–	9.8%	–	8.5%	8.5%
Alpha Research	28 Apr–5 May 2020	1,000	–	33.4%	19.6%	10.3%	6.3%	5.9%	1.6%	14.6%	–	8.2%	13.8%
Mediana	21–28 Feb 2020	1,008	–	29.4%	25.7%	13.3%	5.8%	2.7%	1.9%	12.9%	–	8.3%	3.7%
Barometer	27 Feb 2020	–	–	35.2%	24%	10.5%	9% [lower-alpha 6]	3.1%	1.4%	3.7%	1.6%	11.5%	11.2%
Trend	3–10 Feb 2020	1,007	± 3.1%	30.6%	27.3%	10.1%	3.9% [lower-alpha 6]	6%	2%	10.7%	–	9.4%	3.3%
Barometer (voters)	9–13 Jan 2020	873	–	35.5%	28.2%	11%	11%	3.2%	–	3.6%	–	7.5%	7.3%
Alpha Research	5–12 Dec 2019	1,017	–	29.8%	25%	10.7%	7.3% [lower-alpha 6]	7%	2.1%	11.8%	–	6.2%	4.8%
Market Links (voters)	21–28 Nov 2019	448	–	29.4%	29.4%	8.2%	5.9%	10.6%	2.4%	10.6%	–	4.7%	Tie
Market Links (all)	21–28 Nov 2019	980	–	28.6%	25.4%	12.7%	6.3%	7.9%	1.6%	12.7%	–	3.2%	3.2%
Trend	7–15 Nov 2019	1,008	± 3.1%	35.6%	27.5%	10.3%	5.1%	4.6%	1.8%	7.6%	–	7.3%	8.1%
Alpha Research	10–16 Sep 2019	1,023	–	29.6%	25.8%	11.8%	6.6%	5.6%	2.8%	11.4%	–	6.3%	3.8%
Market Links (voters)	11–19 Jun 2019	429	–	34.9%	33%	9.1%	6.8%	6%	3.8%	–	–	6.4%	1.9%
Trend	5–12 Jun 2019	1,008	± 3.1%	36.7%	29.1%	10.9%	7.6%	5.1%	1.8%	–	–	8.8%	7.6%
2017 election	26 Mar 2017	–	–	32.65%	27.19%	8.99%	9.07%	5.36% [lower-alpha 7]	4.15%	–	–	12.59%	5.46%

Notes:

1. Percentages might not include Ataka's results, as they left the coalition around mid-2019.
2. In an electoral alliance with SDS.
3. IMRO-BNM only.
4. In an electoral alliance with NFSB.
5. The original source data had percentages that totaled 100.2 due to rounding. Due to a lack of better data, the same is true for the recalculated percentages.
6. Results of VMRO only, no information on NFSB's results, which are probably counted as 'Others'.
7. Combined results of separate coalitions led by Yes, Bulgaria! and DSB. The former achieved a result of 2.88%, while the latter won 2.48% of the vote.

Graphical representation of recalculated data:

Note: The above data does not include Barometer polls, due to claims by other pollsters and media that the agency only has one employee. ^[13]

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	GERB–SDS	837,707	25.80	–6.9	75	–20
	There Is Such A People	565,014	17.40	New	51	New
	BSP for Bulgaria	480,146	14.79	–12.4	43	–37
	Movement for Rights and Freedoms	336,306	10.36	+1.4	30	+4
	Democratic Bulgaria	302,280	9.31	+4.0	27	+27
	Stand Up! Mafia, Get Out!	150,940	4.65	New	14	New
	IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement	116,434	3.59	New	0	–12
	Bulgarian National Unification	94,515	2.91	New	0	New
	Revival	78,414	2.41	+1.3	0	0
	Patriotic Coalition (Volya–NFSB)	75,926	2.34	–1.8	0	–9
	Republicans for Bulgaria	42,057	1.30	New	0	New
	Movement of Independent Candidates	16,868	0.52	New	0	New
	Attack	15,659	0.48	New	0	–6
	Alternative for Bulgarian Revival	14,798	0.46	–1.1	0	0
	Revival of the Fatherland	13,182	0.41	New	0	New
	Conservative Union of the Right	9,415	0.29	New	0	New
	People's Voice	8,308	0.26	New	0	New
	Green Party	5,554	0.17	New	0	New
	We, the Citizens	4,788	0.15	New	0	New
	Bulgarian Progressive Line	3,751	0.12	New	0	New
	Morality, Initiative, Patriotism	3,653	0.11	New	0	New
	Together Movement for Change	3,485	0.11	New	0	New
	Society for New Bulgaria	3,438	0.11	New	0	New
	Direct Democracy	3,408	0.10	New	0	New
	Bulgarian Union for Direct Democracy	3,342	0.10	New	0	New
	Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy	2,901	0.09	New	0	New
	Citizens of Protest	2,356	0.07	New	0	New
	The Right	2,165	0.07	New	0	New
	Prosperity-Unification-Building	1,586	0.05	New	0	New
	Nation	897	0.03	New	0	New
	Independents	428	0.01	–0.1	0	0
None of the above		47,749	1.47	–1.0	–	–
Total		3,247,470	100.00	–	240	0
Valid votes		3,247,470	97.40
Invalid/blank votes		86,527	2.60
Total votes		3,333,997	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,789,605	49.10	–3.5
Source: CIK

Strength of each party in each constituency in the election

By constituency

Constituency	GERB–SDS	ITN	BSPzB	DPS	DB	ISMV	VMRO	Others
Blagoevgrad	34.94%	14.99%	12.58%	13.55%	5.10%	3.00%	6.59%	9.25%
Burgas	25.68%	15.33%	14.29%	12.85%	7.18%	5.89%	4.35%	14.43%
Varna	28.84%	19.24%	11.27%	5.65%	8.75%	5.24%	5.98%	15.03%
Veliko Tarnovo	24.00%	20.87%	21.99%	6.61%	6.03%	4.38%	4.11%	12.01%
Vidin	33.13%	14.93%	20.52%	8.78%	4.79%	3.17%	2.85%	11.83%
Vratsa	32.99%	17.63%	16.26%	10.34%	4.28%	3.93%	3.72%	10.85%
Gabrovo	32.20%	19.82%	15.71%	3.68%	5.40%	5.84%	3.41%	13.94%
Dobrich	27.49%	16.86%	19.33%	8.43%	5.52%	4.56%	3.36%	14.45%
Kardzhali	15.30%	5.34%	8.13%	63.05%	2.11%	1.10%	0.49%	4.48%
Kyustendil	31.95%	17.59%	19.59%	1.87%	4.66%	6.16%	4.51%	13.67%
Lovech	35.11%	16.80%	16.09%	10.17%	4.23%	4.29%	2.79%	10.52%
Montana	34.12%	13.56%	14.64%	13.36%	3.04%	3.89%	2.81%	14.58%
Pazardzhik	30.14%	15.91%	16.48%	14.43%	4.12%	3.38%	3.10%	12.44%
Pernik	36.74%	17.48%	16.98%	1.15%	6.00%	5.14%	3.15%	13.36%
Pleven	24.63%	24.23%	18.75%	5.13%	4.60%	4.28%	5.69%	12.69%
Plovdiv-city	25.49%	19.94%	14.63%	2.95%	12.65%	5.08%	4.41%	14.85%
Plovdiv-province	24.87%	18.64%	20.48%	8.50%	4.74%	4.51%	3.26%	15.00%
Razgrad	22.35%	9.01%	9.61%	40.08%	7.51%	1.98%	1.21%	8.25%
Ruse	20.86%	20.98%	18.86%	9.06%	7.99%	5.02%	5.63%	11.60%
Silistra	29.31%	12.01%	13.39%	27.12%	3.49%	2.87%	3.84%	7.97%
Sliven	30.80%	17.22%	17.76%	8.20%	5.51%	5.32%	2.67%	12.52%
Smolyan	29.41%	16.06%	13.53%	20.89%	4.06%	3.72%	1.53%	10.80%
Sofia-city 23	20.17%	14.40%	13.32%	0.57%	28.48%	6.54%	3.32%	13.20%
Sofia-city 24	22.62%	15.41%	13.07%	1.33%	24.43%	5.96%	3.53%	13.65%
Sofia-city 25	24.08%	18.81%	14.70%	0.72%	16.12%	6.28%	4.09%	15.20%
Sofia-province	35.19%	19.02%	16.64%	4.14%	5.24%	3.85%	4.61%	11.31%
Stara Zagora	22.34%	20.70%	16.57%	12.20%	6.23%	6.07%	2.98%	12.91%
Targovishte	18.40%	11.74%	13.41%	37.52%	2.67%	2.63%	1.67%	11.96%
Haskovo	37.34%	14.20%	14.87%	13.40%	4.72%	4.32%	1.42%	9.73%
Shumen	27.69%	14.50%	14.50%	22.65%	3.43%	3.42%	2.80%	11.01%
Yambol	24.38%	18.72%	27.27%	1.54%	5.08%	6.00%	2.34%	14.67%
Bulgarian nationals abroad	8.66%	30.75%	6.52%	13.17%	17.56%	4.24%	1.57%	17.53%
Source: CIK

Voter demographics

Gallup exit polling suggested the following demographic breakdown. ^[14] The parties which received below 4% of the vote are included in 'Others':

Voter demographics
Social group	% GERB	% ITN	% BSP	% DPS	% DB	% ISMV	% VMRO	% Others	% Lead
Exit Poll Result	23	17	16	10	10	5	4	15	6
Final Result	25.8	17.4	14.8	10.4	9.3	4.7	3.6	14	8.4
Gender
Men	22	17	16	12	9	3	5	15	5
Women	23	17	17	8	11	6	3	14	6
Age
18–30	15	30	7	11	14	2	3	18	15
30-60	24	18	13	10	11	6	4	14	6
60+	23	8	33	11	6	4	4	11	10
Highest Level of Education
Lower Education	20	6	22	35	2	1	3	11	13
Secondary Education	24	17	19	12	4	4	4	16	5
Higher Education	21	19	14	2	19	7	4	14	2
Ethnic Group
Bulgarian	23	18	18	2	11	5	5	18	5
Turkic	13	3	7	67	1	1	1	7	54
Roma	24	10	18	27	2	2	4	13	3
Location
Towns and Villages	24	10	18	26	2	3	5	12	2
Smaller Cities	24	19	20	9	3	4	5	16	4
Larger Cities	23	20	16	2	10	6	4	18	3
Sofia	19	15	12	0	30	6	3	15	11

Analysis

Both GERB and BSP had very poor results and there was a large turnover with a third of the seats taken by parties not represented in the previous parliament. ^[15] A central theme in the election was purported corruption in the GERB-led government, which saw GERB lose seats and various anti-corruption parties gain, most notably Slavi Trifonov's ITN, but also DB and ISMV. The Bulgarian Socialist Party suffered from division between its leader Korneliya Ninova and other factions. ^[16] The BSP recorded their worst-ever result in a democratic election. ^[15] The far-right parties also suffered from splits, losing their representation in parliament; ^[16] the Attack party and the two remaining parties from the United Patriots alliance (the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria and Volya Movement) contested the elections separately, with none winning a seat. The three combined results of the three parties suggested they could have crossed the electoral threshold if they had run together.

The election happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated a greater focus on online campaigning. ^[16] Contrary to expectations, voter turnout was broadly unchanged. ^[15]

Government formation

After his offer of a technocrat government was rejected by the opposition, Borisov said that as leader of the largest party, he would try to form a coalition government, and that he would also be open to supporting an ITN-led government. However, Borisov himself stated he would likely be unsuccessful in forming a coalition, with the likeliest outcomes being either a caretaker government followed by new elections or a coalition of parties new to Parliament. ^{[17] [16]}

After former foreign minister Daniel Mitov, whom Boyko Borisov had nominated as GERB's candidate for prime minister, ^[18] failed to form a government, ^[19] the mandate was then offered to Slavi Trifonov's ITN. Chess grandmaster Antoaneta Stefanova, whom Trifonov appointed to take the mandate from president Rumen Radev immediately returned it in accordance with Trifonov's wish. ^[20] Korneliya Ninova of BSPzB formally received the final mandate from president Radev on 5 May 2021, but refused to form a government due to a lack of support from other parliamentary opposition parties. ^[21] This triggered an early election (to be held on 11 July), and the president appointed a caretaker government led by Stefan Yanev ^[22] to run the country until the elections are over and a permanent administration is formed. ^{[23] [21]}

References

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2. Electoral system for national legislature – Bulgaria Archived 2021-07-07 at the Wayback Machine IDEA
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4. За партията на Слави Трифонов са забранени съюзи с ГЕРБ, БСП и ДПС Archived 2020-11-04 at the Wayback Machine OFF News, 7 October 2020
5. Христо Иванов: Коалиция с ГЕРБ няма да има със или без Борисов Archived 2021-12-08 at the Wayback Machine OFF News, 11 October 2020
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11. Устав на „Движение на непартийните кандидати“ Archived 2021-05-20 at the Wayback Machine . // Justice.bg. Глава втора: Принципи, цели и начини за постигането им, страница 1. Посетен на 25 февруари 2021 г.
12. Includes all deputies without a parliamentary group
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17. "Bulgarian PM Seeks Coalition Government But Says Effort 'Unlikely To Succeed". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. April 7, 2021. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
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