Snap parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 27 October 2024, after all three attempts to form a government following the latest June 2024 elections failed. This was the country's sixth snap election since 2021. This series of snap elections is the result of a political crisis affecting the country.
Eight parties passed the electoral threshold to win representation in the National Assembly, while Velichie came just 21 votes short to win representation. GERB–SDS had the best results by winning 25.5% of the vote, but were required to form an alliance with at least two other elected parties in order to achieve a voting majority in the National Assembly. The new elected 51st Parliament replaced the 50th Parliament when all elected members were sworn in on 11 November. After 11 voting rounds, Natalia Kiselova (BSP–OL) was elected as speaker of the National Assembly on 6 December. President Rumen Radev granted the first negotiation mandate to the largest party GERB-SDS on 15 January, which formed a minority government alongside BSP and ITN, with support from APS (Dogan). The government was led by GERB politician Rosen Zhelyazkov.
Velichie and all elected parties except DPS–NN (Peevski) contested the results and conduct of the parliamentary election by submitting complaint cases to the Constitutional Court; and the court subsequently appointed an independent expert panel to investigate all complaints. Following a recalculation of the results, the Constitutional Court ruled in March 2025 that 16 of the 240 MPs were elected illegally, and that Velichie had passed the threshold.
Background
Elections and government breakdown The June 2024 elections, held at the same time as the European Parliament elections, had the lowest turnout (33%) since the end of communist rule in 1989. It resulted in GERB–SDS winning 25% of the votes and 68 seats, with no party or alliance obtaining enough seats to form a majority in the National Assembly. The new elected 50th Parliament replaced the 49th Parliament, when all elected members were sworn in on 19 June. Government formation attempts were given to GERB, PP–DB and There is Such a People (ITN), with the final attempt failing on 5 August.
As a consequence, President Rumen Radev instead appointed the Vice President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, as the next caretaker prime minister on 9 August. Grancharova-Kozhareva was granted ten days to form a proposal for the next caretaker government to be appointed on 20 August, and the upcoming next parliamentary elections were scheduled for 20 October 2024. Grancharova-Kozhareva made the controversial decision to propose that the incumbent minister of the interior, Kalin Stoyanov, should remain in his role, but this was opposed by President Radev. Radev rejected the government proposal, delaying the upcoming election.
Following the rejection of Grancharova-Kozhareva, Radev re-appointed Dimitar Glavchev as the caretaker prime minister, and his government proposal was sworn in on 27 August, and the elections were set for 27 October.
Changes in the Assembly's composition prior to the election One MP was expelled from the BSP by its national council on 18 June, before being sworn in.
The Velichie parliamentary group comprised 13 MPs after the election. On 5 July, six MPs broke away from the group, dissolving it.
A rift in Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) surrounding Delyan Peevski saw 17 MPs expelled and a further eight leave.
As of the end of July 2024, the composition of the Assembly was as follows: Composition of the 50th Parliament GERB-SDS (68 MPs) PP–DB (39 MPs) VAZ (38 MPs) DPS (22 MPs) BSPzB (18 MPs) ITN (16 MPs) Independents expelled from DPS Independents expelled from the former Velichie Independents from the dissolved Velichie Independent expelled from BSPzB
Electoral system The 240 members of the National Assembly were elected by open list, proportional representation from 31 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from four to nineteen seats. The electoral threshold was 4% for all parties or electoral coalitions, with seats allocated according to the largest remainder method using a Hare quota.
Parties Contesting parties and coalitions Below is the official list of parties and coalitions that registered lists for the Bulgarian Parliamentary elections. Boxes shaded in grey are not officially parties in the coalitions according to the electoral commission, but they are key groups in each alliance.
It was reported that despite suggesting they could run, Volt, Bulgarian National Union and VMRO did not submit their lists in time to partake in the elections. NDPS also wished to partake, but its registration was deleted. Party or coalition Ideology Leader 2024 result Votes (%) Seats 1 Democrats for Responsibility, Solidarity and Tolerance Turkish minority interestsErdoğanism DNP 2 People's Voice Right-wing populism Svetoslav Vitkov 0.30% 3 Left-wing nationalismEuroscepticism DNP 4 Greatness Bulgarian nationalismAnti-corruption Albena Pekova 4.52% 5Bulgars Bulgarian nationalismNational conservatism Georgi Georgiev-Goti 0.04% 6 My Country Bulgaria Bulgarian Left Democratic socialism Boyan Kirov Solidary Bulgaria Social democracy Yordan Gergov My Country Bulgaria Anti-Western sentimentLeft-wing nationalism Ivaylo Drazhev DNE 7 There is Such a People PopulismSocial conservatism Slavi Trifonov 5.79% 8 DPS – A New Beginning Movement for Rights and Freedoms Turkish minority interestsLiberalism Delyan Peevski 16.56% New Leaders Direct democracyGeorgi Tityukov DNE Bulgarian Voice National conservatism Euro-atlanticismGeorgi Popov 0.15% 9 Anti-establishment DNP 10 Green politicsLeft-wing nationalism Vladimir Nikolov 0.25% 11 Populism Maria Koleva DNP 12 Revival UltranationalismRight-wing populism Kostadin Kostadinov 13.38% 13 Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (SBOR) Dimitar Iliev DNP Agrarian People's Union Agrarianism Rumen Yonchev Blue Bulgaria DPS dissidents LiberalismTurkish minority interests Dzhevdet Chakarov DNE Bulgaria Awake National conservatismAnti-corruption Nikolay Barekov DNP 14 Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy Ultranationalism 0.10% 15 Direct democracyBulgarian nationalism 0.04% 16 Blue Bulgaria Conservative Union of the Right National conservatismAnti-communism Petar Moskov 1.52% National conservatismAnti-communism Democratic Action Movement Liberal conservatism Stefan Ivanov Bulgarian New Democracy Liberal conservatism Valeri Georgiev Conservative Bulgaria National conservatism Boris Yachev Radical-Democratic Party Social conservatismAnti-communism Zahari Petrov United Agrarians AgrarianismLiberal conservatism Vacant DNP 17 Morality, Unity, Honour Anti-corruptionSocial conservatism Radostin Vasilev 2.98% 18 GERB–SDS GERB Social conservatismPro-Europeanism Boyko Borisov 23.99% SDS Christian democracyAnti-communism Rumen Hristov George's Day Movement National conservatismBulgarian nationalism Lyuben Dilov Jr. 19 Attack Bulgarian nationalismUltranationalism Volen Siderov DNP 20 Anti-vaccinationAnti-establishment 0.11% 21 Bulgarian nationalismDirect democracy 0.24% 22 Free Voters Green Union Green politics Danail Dimov DNP Republicans for Bulgaria ConservatismEconomic liberalism Tsvetan Tsvetanov Union of Free Democrats Liberal conservatism Radoslav Katsarov 23 Anti-Western sentimentHard Euroscepticism DNP 24 Right-wing populism We the Citizens 25 Russophiles for Bulgaria Bulgarian Communist PartyCommunism Vladimir Hristov 0.11%(NB) Party of the Bulgarian CommunistsCommunismMarxism–Leninism Ivan Penchev Russophiles for theRevival of the Fatherland RussophiliaNational conservatism Valentin Grigorov 26 PP–DB We Continue the Change LiberalismAnti-corruptionKiril PetkovAssen Vassilev 13.92% Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria ConservatismAnti-communism Atanas Atanasov Yes, Bulgaria!LiberalismAnti-corruption Hristo Ivanov 27 Bulgarian Rise National conservatism Stefan Yanev 0.56% 28 BSP – United Left Bulgarian Socialist Party Social conservatismSocial democracy Atanas Zafirov 6.85%(BSPzB) Ecoglasnost Green politicsEnvironmentalism Left wing nationalism Stefan Nachev Stand Up.BG Social democracyLeft-wing populism Maya Manolova 1.42%(SB) Alternative for Bulgarian Revival Social democracySocial conservatism Rumen Petkov 0.69%(The Left) Movement 21Social democracy Tatyana DonchevaPolitical Movement "Social Democrats"Social democracy Elena Noneva Bulgarian Social Democracy – EuroLeft Social democracy Aleksandr Tomov 0.10%(Rose Coalition) Communist Party of Bulgaria Marxism–Leninism Alexander Paunov Neutral Bulgaria Left-wing nationalism Svetoslav Mandikov We the Citizens Movement for Social Humanism Progressivism Alexander Radoslavov DNP European Security and Integration Roma Minority politics Toma Tomov Union for the Fatherland Left-wing nationalism Vasil Tochkov Arise Left-wing nationalism Aleksandr Bogdanov 29 IndependentAnti-corruptionPleven localismChavdar Popov DNP
DPS leadership dispute On 27 August, the central leadership organisation of the DPS removed Delyan Peevski as chairman of the party, and seven MPs close to Peevski were expelled from the party. This move has been linked to Ahmed Dogan, MP and honorary chairman of the party. Peevski called the move unconstitutional, and gained control of the official party website. This follows the rift in the party following the election, where the parliamentary group split. The controversy surrounding Peevski has led to two groups emerging, DPS – A New Beginning and Democracy, Rights and Freedoms, with both groups registering as electoral coalitions with the acronym DPS in order to get around the rules of the electoral commission. After DPS–Peevski was recognized to be the legitimate DPS by the Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria, DPS–Dogan changed their name to "Alliance for Rights and Freedoms" (АПС instead of ДПС) and registered without listing DPS as a member of the alliance. The DPS mayors split 50:50 between both groups.
Campaign
Campaign finances Ten days prior to the election, it was reported that 1.2 million BGN (US$680k) was spent on advertising in the media, with ITN spending the most, DPS–Peevski second most, and BPS–OL third.
The spending of each electoral group which won seats is as follows:
Party or coalitionSpending (in BGN) PP–DB1,309,218DPS – A New Beginning1,162,812Revival996,540Alliance for Rights and Freedoms957,722GERB–SDS901,518There is Such a People758,536BSP – United Left706,987Morality, Unity, Honour300,000+
Campaign slogans and websites
The following list present the official campaign slogans and websites of parties that contested the election:
Party or coalitionSlogan Website DOSTFor a better future N/APeople's VoiceFor a future without political garbage! For a more clean and sacred (republic)!N/AN/AWebsiteGreatnessFrom the ashes - to the sunWebsiteBulgarsBulgaria above all!WebsiteMy Country BulgariaUnity creates strength!N/AThere is Such a PeopleThe logical choiceWebsiteDPS – A New BeginningIt's time for a new beginningWebsiteTo Save BulgariaN/A Vote for the Greens with No. 10WebsiteGive a chance for yourself... Vote for Legality!WebsiteRevivalEnough experiments! Its time for Revival!WebsiteAlliance for Rights and FreedomsTo defend democracy and statehood!WebsiteBNS–NDN/AWebsiteThe system has completely failed! It is time for change to come!Website Blue BulgariaBelieve strongly, act decisively.WebsiteMorality, Unity, HonourMECH or the mafia!WebsiteGERB–SDSSecurity and stability. WebsiteAttackThe attack continuesN/AImmediate changeN/ANew systemWebsiteFree VotersResponsible choiceN/AFor an independent Bulgaria of labour and reason outside the EU and NATOWebsiteWho will return our fatherland?N/ARussophiles for BulgariaBulgaria is stronger together with Russia!WebsitePP–DBLet us care for Bulgaria.WebsiteBSP – United LeftTime for decisionsWebsite
Opinion polls