According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (1991), the National Assembly (Parliament) exercises legislative power in the country.
The Parliament of Bulgaria is unicameral and consists of 240 people’s representatives, elections are held every four years.
Elections for a new National Assembly are held no later than two months after the termination of the powers of the previous one.
In 2021, early parliamentary elections were held three times in Bulgaria due to the impossibility of forming a government based on their results. It was only after the elections in November that the politicians managed to form a government coalition.
As a result of the government crisis, the cabinet of ministers headed by Kiril Petkov resigned at the end of June 2022. Attempts to form a new government ended in failure.
According to the constitution, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev signed a decree on the dissolution of the People’s Assembly (Parliament) on August 2. Early elections are scheduled for October 2, 2022.
According to the Electoral Code of Bulgaria and (2014), parliamentarians are elected by a proportional system using preferences in 32 multi-member constituencies, of which 26 correspond to administrative regions, three constituencies are formed in Sofia and two in Plovdiv, and one multi-member constituency is formed outside the country. The number of mandates in each multi-member constituency depends on the population, but there cannot be less than four.
Voting is compulsory in Bulgaria , but there are no sanctions for not voting.
Citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote, except for prisoners and those recognized as legally incompetent by a court decision. All eligible voters permanently registered in Bulgaria are automatically included in the electoral roll of the respective polling station.
Citizens of the country over 21 years of age who have the right to vote and do not have another citizenship can stand for election. Candidates in public service must cease their official duties after their registration.
Candidates can run for parties, coalitions or independently.
Persons who are prohibited from joining political parties (military, intelligence and police officers, diplomats, judges and prosecutors) can participate in elections as independent candidates.
Candidates from parties and coalitions are registered under numbers in the register of lists of candidates. The number of candidates on each list cannot exceed twice the number of seats in a multi-member constituency. Each candidate may be nominated by only one political party or coalition in no more than two multi-member constituencies.
Parties and coalitions must submit registration documents to the CEC, a deposit of 2.5 thousand Bulgarian leva and signatures of at least 2.5 thousand voters.
Each independent candidate can be registered with the support of at least 1%, but not more than a thousand votes of voters permanently residing in the district. He can only run in one constituency. An independent candidate also needs to pay a deposit of 100 BGN.
The official election campaign starts 30 days before Election Day.
Public broadcasters, Bulgarian National Television and Bulgarian National Radio are obliged to provide each participant with free airtime.
Campaign expenses are limited and amount to BGN 3 million for parties or coalitions and BGN 200,000 for independent candidates. The law allows an unlimited number of donations from individuals and legal entities, but donations from non-residents, anonymous persons, religious organizations, as well as from foreign countries are prohibited.
Transactions over BGN 1,000 must be made via bank transfer.
Voting takes place on election day at polling stations from 7.00 to 20.00. However, it can be extended until 21.00.
Persons whose behavior is contrary to social norms, as well as persons carrying objects that threaten human life or health, are not allowed to the polling station.
At polling stations with at least 300 registered voters, machine voting is mandatory. Paper ballots are only used in polling stations with fewer than 300 registered voters, special polling stations, home voting, and when machines fail.
In the case of voting by paper ballot, the voter puts a “V” or “X” sign in the box opposite the chosen party, coalition or independent candidate, he can also choose the option “against all”.
If desired, the voter can cast his vote for a certain candidate from the list of the party. To do this, he must know exactly the number of the candidate in the list and put “X” or “V” in the appropriate circle. The folded ballot is handed over to the commission member, who checks whether the ballot code matches its number in the list. He stamps and then passes the ballot to the voter, who puts it in the ballot box.
To access the voting device, you must use a smart card, after which a ballot is displayed on the screen, identical to the paper one. The voter puts his vote for the list of candidates or expresses his preference for a candidate from the selected list of candidates of a political party or coalition. It is possible to vote against everyone. The voter can change his choice once before confirmation. The vote is registered and stored in an electronic ballot box, the voter receives a notice of the end of voting and a control receipt, which is dropped into a special box for machine voting. The voter returns the smart card, signs the voter list and leaves the polling station.
If a voter has visual, hearing or other health problems that do not allow him to cast his vote independently, the chairman of the commission may allow the assistance of an escort. One person cannot accompany more than two voters.
Voters with disabilities that prevent them from exercising their right to vote at a polling station may vote at home. To do this, they must submit an appropriate application no later than 14 days before election day.
Parties that receive at least 4% of the votes are allowed to distribute seats in parliament.
The Hare-Niemeyer method is used to determine the number of seats. The population of the country, according to the results of the last census, is divided by 240. The resulting coefficient is a single standard of representation for the country. Thereafter, the population of each multi-member constituency is divided by a single standard of representation. Each county initially receives as many seats as listed in the whole number, excluding remainders. The remaining seats are allocated to the constituencies with the largest remainder in descending order.
If the procedure cannot continue due to equal balances, the number of which exceeds the number of remaining unallocated seats, then these seats are distributed by the CEC by lot. This process may be attended by representatives of political parties, coalitions and initiative committees, observers and media representatives.
To determine the number of seats for independent candidates in multi-member constituencies, district election commissions determine the electoral quota of the constituency. To do this, the total number of valid votes cast in a district is divided by the number of seats allocated to that area. An independent candidate who receives a number of valid votes that is greater than or equal to the electoral quota of the district is considered elected.
If the voter does not use the preferred option, then it is counted as the first candidate on the party list. To win a preferential seat, a candidate must receive the votes of at least 7% of the voters who voted for him or the list of candidates in which he can be nominated.
Candidates are ranked according to the number of preferences received, starting with the candidate who received the most valid preferences. They are removed from the list of candidates of the respective party or coalition of parties and constitute the A list. The remaining candidates on the list retain their original position and constitute the B list.
If there are two or more candidates with an equal number of preferences in the first list, their rank is determined by the CEC based on a lottery. In the absence of candidates with valid preferences, the elected candidates are determined according to the rank assigned in the list of candidates. If the number of candidates with valid preferences is less than the number of seats allocated to a political party or coalition of parties, then all candidates from list A are elected. The remaining seats allocated to a political party or coalition of parties are filled by candidates from list B in the order of their ranking.
If a candidate is elected from two multi-member constituencies, he must notify the CEC in writing which constituency he wishes to remain elected from.
Otherwise, the CEC declares the said candidate an elected deputy from the constituency in which he was first registered as a deputy.
In the vacated constituency, the CEC declares elected the candidate who occupies the next position on the list.
The Central Electoral Commission announces the results of the elections no later than four days after voting day. The CEC announces the names of the elected deputies no later than seven days after the election day.
The newly elected People’s Assembly is convened for the first meeting by the President of the Republic within a month after the election of Parliament. If this does not happen within the specified period, then it is convened by one fifth of the members of Parliament.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from Novosti and open sources