Elections in Bulgaria

Parliamentary elections have been held in Bulgaria since 1879. There was a period when partisan politics was banned from 1934 to 1944; in the wake of the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1934 and the sequential personal rule of Tsar Boris III. There was also period of single party system between 1945 and 1989, during the People's Republic of Bulgaria, during which only candidates sanctioned by authorities could run. This, in practice, gave the Bulgarian Communist Party and its collaborators a monopoly on power.

Until 1945 there was no universal suffrage for the women. The table below show the elections since 1990, when the government became a democratic republic.

All elections since 1991 have had 240 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies with a 4% threshold. The two elections that differed from this model was the 1990 Grand National Assembly election, where 400 representatives were elected: half by proportional representation and half by first-past-the-post voting. The other exception was the 2009 election when 209 representatives were elected by proportional representation and 31 through first past the post; seats corresponding to the provinces and the largest cities.

Most recent election

This section is an excerpt from 2026 Bulgarian parliamentary election § Results.[edit]

PB was the largest party with 44.6% of the vote, followed by GERB/SDS with 13.3%, PP–DP with 12.6%, DPS with 7.1%, and Revival with 4.3%.^[1][2] Among other main parties, MECh, Velichie, and BSP–OL respectively obtained 3.2%, 3.1%, and 3.0%, narrowly below the 4% threshold.^[1][2] In terms of seats, PB obtained an absolute majority with 131 seats, followed by GERB/SDS with 39, PP–DP with 37, DPS with 21, and Revival with 12.^[3] Although PB obtained a larger than expected win, the final polls were relatively accurate and within (or close to) the margin of error as Market Links, Alpha Research, Myara, Sova Harris, Trend, CAM, and Gallup respectively deviated by an average of 2.79%, 3.14%, 3.24%, 3.64%, 3.71%, 4.01%, and 4.83% from the election results.^[2]

More information Party, Votes ...

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Progressive Bulgaria	1,444,920	43.91	131	New
	GERB–SDS	433,755	13.18	39	−27
	We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria	408,846	12.42	37	+1
	Movement for Rights and Freedoms	230,693	7.01	21	−8
	Revival	137,940	4.19	12	−21
	Morality, Unity, Honour	104,506	3.18	0	–11
	Velichie	100,572	3.06	0	–10
	BSP – United Left	97,753	2.97	0	–19
	Siyanie	93,559	2.84	0	New
	Alliance for Rights and Freedoms	50,759	1.54	0	–19
	There is Such a People	23,861	0.73	0	–17
	Anti-Corruption Bloc	18,999	0.58	0	0
	Blue Bulgaria	18,640	0.57	0	0
	Bulgaria Can	17,263	0.52	0	0
	Direct Democracy [bg]	10,032	0.30	0	New
	Nation [bg]	9,804	0.30	0	New
	Movement of Non-Partisan Candidates [bg]	9,761	0.30	0	New
	Nepokorna Bulgaria	6,221	0.19	0	New
	People's Voice	4,665	0.14	0	New
	People's Party "Truth and Only the Truth" [bg]	4,392	0.13	0	0
	My Bulgaria	4,358	0.13	0	0
	Party of the Greens [bg]	3,027	0.09	0	0
	Resistance	1,897	0.06	0	New
	Third of March	1,840	0.06	0	New
	Independents	2,093	0.06	0	New
None of the above		50,733	1.54	–	–
Total		3,290,889	100.00	240	0
Valid votes		3,290,889	97.94
Invalid/blank votes		69,222	2.06
Total votes		3,360,111	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,627,747	50.70
Source: Central Electoral Commission

Close

Presidential elections have been held since 1992. From 1996 onwards, presidential elections have been held every five years.

Bulgaria has participated in every European Parliament elections since 2007, as its accession to the European Union in that same year. GERB has won every EU election since 2007, as of 2024.

Since 1991, referendums are required to have a turnout of at least 60% in order to be considered valid.^[4] Any referendum which has a turnout of at least 20% is required to be debated in the National Assembly.^[5] Under current Bulgarian law a referendum is mandatory if a petition receives at least five hundred thousand signatures.

Mayors and muncipal councilors are elected across the country every four years. The elections to Bulgaria's municipal councils are conducted via proportional representation with an open list preferential voting system.^[16][17]

• Government of Bulgaria
• Constitution of Bulgaria