DOCSLIB.ORG

Factsheet: the Bulgarian National Assembly

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Factsheet: the Bulgarian National Assembly Directorate-General for the Presidency Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments Factsheet: The Bulgarian National Assembly 1. At a glance The Republic of Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy. The Bulgarian Parliament (National Assembly or Narodno sabranie) is a unicameral body, which consists of 240 deputies elected directly by the voters from 32 constituencies to four-year terms, on the basis of the proportional system. Political parties must gather a minimum of 4% of the national vote in order to enter the Assembly. The National Assembly has three basic functions: legislative, control and constitutive. The major function of the National Assembly is to legislate by adopting, amending and rescinding laws. The control function of the National Assembly is to exercise oversight of the executive. The MPs contribute to effective work of the government and state administration by addressing questions and interpellations, and by requiring reports. The constitutive function of the National Assembly is to elect, on a motion from the Prime Minister, the members of the Council of Ministers, the President and members of the National Audit Office, the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank and his/her Deputies, and the heads of other institutions established by a law. The current minority coalition government under Premier Minister Boyko Borisov (GERB/EPP), sworn in on 7 November 2014, is composed of the conservative GERB party (EPP) and the centre- right Reformist Bloc (RB/EPP), with the support of nationalist Patriotic Front coalition (PF/ECR) and the centre-left ABV (non-affiliated). 2. Composition Results of the elections of 5 October 2014 Party EP affiliation % Seats GERB Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria 32,7 84 Bulgarska sotsialisticheska partiya (BSP) Bulgarian Socialist Party - Leftist Bulgaria 15,4 39 Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi (DPS) Movement for Rights and Freedoms 14,8 38 Reformatorski blok (BAP, DBG, DSB, VVD, UDF) 23 Reformist Bloc (BAP, DBG, DSB, VVD, UDF) 8,9 Patriotic Front coalition (NFSB - VMRO) 19 7,3 Bulgaria Without Censorship party 5,7 15 ATAKA Party Not affiliated 4,5 11 Alternativa za balgarsko vazrazhdane (ABV) Not affiliated 4,1 11 Alternative for Bulgarian Revival 240 Turnout: 51,05% The next elections must take place in autumn 2018 at the latest. 3. Officeholders President of the National Assembly Chairperson of the European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds Committee Ms Tsetska Tsacheva Dangovska Mr Svetlen Dimitrov Tanchev (GERB/EPP), (Bulgaria Without Censorship party/ECR), since 27 October 2014 since 27 November 2014 Secretary General of the Bulgarian Parliament: Mr Ivan Slavchov, since 6 November 2014 4. Relations with Members of the European Parliament Participation rights for Bulgarian MEPs Partially (MEPs may attend debates) in plenary sittings Participation rights for Bulgarian MEPs Partially (MEPs may attend debates) in committee meetings Availability of videoconferencing system in No the Bulgarian Parliament 5. Information links – Official website: http://www.parliament.bg – Rules of procedure in English – List of committees – Recent documents submitted by the Bulgarian Parliament to the Interparliamentary EU Information Exchange (IPEX) – European Parliament Information Office in Sofia 6. Contacts Factsheet author and contact in the Contact of the Bulgarian Parliament: EP Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments: Ms Jitka Polášková Mr Hristo Kraevski Office WIE 05U024, 1047 Brussels Office WIE 06U023 Phone +32 2 28 31056 Phone +32 2 28 48699 [email protected] [email protected] Last updated on 18 May 2015. Photo credits: Bulgarian Parliament. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/relnatparl [email protected] .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • KAS MP SOE Redebeitrag AM En
    REPORT Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung MEDIA MONITORING LABORATORY February 2015 Media under their own momentum: www.fmd.bg The deficient will to change www.kas.de Foundation Media Democracy (FMD) and KAS. In summary, the main findings, by the Media Program South East Europe of areas of monitoring, include: the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) present the joint annual report on the MEDIA DISCOURSE state of the Bulgarian media environment in 2014. The study summarises the trends Among the most striking images in the coverage of socio-political constructed by Bulgarian media in 2014 was developments in the country. During the the presentation of patriotism as the monitored period dynamic processes sanctuary of identity. Among the most unfolded – European Parliament elections watched television events during the year and early elections to the National turned to be the Klitschko-Pulev boxing Assembly took place, three governments match. The event inflamed social networks, changed in the country’s governance. morning shows, commentary journalism. It was presented not simply as boxing, but as The unstable political situation has also an occasion for national euphoria. Such affected the media environment, in which a discourse fitted into the more general trend number of important problems have failed of nourishing patriotic passions which to find a solution. During the year, self- through the stadium language, but also regulation was virtually blocked. A vast through the media language, are easily majority of the media continued operating mobilised into street and political forms of at a loss. For many of them the problem symbolic and physical violence against with the ownership clarification remained others (Roma, refugees, the sexually and unresolved.
    [Show full text]
  • Election Reaction: the Status Quo Wins in Bulgaria
    Election reaction: The status quo wins in Bulgaria blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2017/03/27/2017-bulgarian-election-results-borisov-wins/ 27/03/2017 Bulgaria held parliamentary elections on 26 March, with preliminary results indicating that GERB, led by Boyko Borisov, had emerged as the largest party. Dimitar Bechev analyses the results, writing that despite the Bulgarian Socialist Party building on their success in last year’s presidential election to run GERB close, the results showed the resilience of the status quo in the country. Boyko Borisov, Credit: European People’s Party (CC-BY-SA-2.0) After running neck and neck with the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) for months on end, Boyko Borisov won again. He is battered and bruised. He did not win big, but win he did. Preliminary results give his party, GERB, 32.6% of the vote in Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections. The Socialists finished a close second with about 26.8%. They are disappointed, no doubt, but theirs is no mean achievement. In the last elections in October 2014, the BSP trailed much further behind Borisov (32.7% vs. 15.4%). Given the similar turnout in both elections (around 48%), it is clear the party did manage to capitalise on the momentum generated by their triumph in the November 2016 presidential elections, which were won by former general Rumen Radev. But the BSP will not rise to the position of top dog in Bulgarian politics. Table: Preliminary results of the 2017 Bulgarian election 1/3 Note: Results based on the official count (89%) as of the morning of 27 March (rounded to first decimal place).
    [Show full text]
  • English Version of This Report Is the Only Official Document
    INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION Republic of Bulgaria Early Parliamentary Elections, 26 March 2017 STATEMENT OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS Electoral contestants reached out to the voters freely, in a low-key campaign characterized by the public’s disillusionment with politics and weariness of holding elections. The legal framework was amended several times since the 2014 elections, but limitations remain to the suffrage rights, use of languages other than Bulgarian, campaign finance reporting, complaints and appeals system and voting abroad. The election administration worked professionally and transparently overall, however their decision-making was not always consistent. The voting process was transparent, but procedural shortcomings were noted during counting in the limited number of polling stations observed. The legal framework is generally conducive to holding democratic elections. The 2014 Electoral Code was amended several times, most recently in October 2016. The amendments addressed some previous OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe Venice Commission recommendations, but not others, including long-standing limitations of the right to vote, right to stand and equality of suffrage. The limitation of the number of polling stations in non-European Union (EU) countries has a discriminatory effect. In general, the election administration conducted its work in a professional and transparent manner and met most legal deadlines. The sessions of the Central and District Election Commissions (CEC and DECs) were live-streamed and open to the public and media. The CEC did not reach the required qualified majority to approve several decisions. It also decided that all voter education materials would be exclusively in the Bulgarian language, contrary to international commitments and standards.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria Political Briefing: Bulgarian President Rumen Radev Will Run for a Second Term Evgeniy Kandilarov
    ISSN: 2560-1601 Vol. 37, No. 1 (BG) February 2021 Bulgaria political briefing: Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will run for a Second Term Evgeniy Kandilarov 1052 Budapest Petőfi Sándor utca 11. +36 1 5858 690 Kiadó: Kína-KKE Intézet Nonprofit Kft. [email protected] Szerkesztésért felelős személy: CHen Xin Kiadásért felelős személy: Huang Ping china-cee.eu 2017/01 Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will run for a Second Term One of the most significant political events in the last few weeks in Bulgaria was the announcement of the President Roumen Radev, on Februaty 1st, that he and the Vice President Iliana Yotova will run for a second term in office at the presidential elections scheduled for this fall. This became clear during a press conference at which the head of state reported on what had been done over the past four years. “Our candidacy at this time is an honest move for citizens and political figures,” he said in an hour-long speech, hailing his own presidency as a voice of reason during the last few years. President Rumen Radev took the office after winning a second round of voting in 2016 – against GERB candidate Tsetska Tsacheva. Radev and Iliana Yotova took the oath as president and vice president in the parliament on January 19, 2017.Three days later, on January 22, they officially took the office. Under the constitution, the presidential couple's term expires in January 2022. Elections for a new head of state will be in the fall but it is not yet clear whether they will be in October or November.
    [Show full text]
  • A Game of Polls: Bulgaria's Presidential Election Threatens To
    A game of polls: Bulgaria’s presidential election threatens to shake up the country’s party system blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2016/10/31/game-of-polls-bulgaria-presidential-election/ 31/10/2016 Bulgaria will hold presidential elections on 6 November, with a second round runoff scheduled for 13 November. Dimitar Bechev previews the contest, writing that the candidate supported by the country’s largest party, GERB, could face a tougher contest than originally anticipated. Presidential elections in Bulgaria are supposed to be a rather dull affair. Many expected the candidate handpicked by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to make it comfortably to the second round (to be held on 13 November), piggybacking on their patron’s popularity as well as the ruling party GERB’s (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) formidable electoral machine. To Borisov’s chagrin, that now seems less and less likely. Polls suggest that the race between his choice, parliament speaker Tsetska Tsacheva, and General Rumen Radev, backed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), will be tight. Not quite the suspense of the U.S. presidential contest, but certainly not lacking in drama either. And, to boot, the opposition frontrunner might actually have a fair chance. He could well rally the votes cast for United Patriots, an ultra-nationalist coalition between erstwhile sworn enemies the Patriotic Front and Ataka, for ABV (Alternative for Bulgarian Renaissance), a splinter group from the BSP, and several other minor players. Borisov has only himself to blame for this state of affairs. He delayed his choice as much as possible, unveiling Tsacheva at the very last moment – well after other contenders had stepped into the fray.
    [Show full text]
  • ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed
    APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria: Freedom in the World 2017 Country Report
    FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2017 Bulgaria 80 FREE /100 Political Rights 33 /40 Civil Liberties 47 /60 Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology. Overview Multiple parties compete in Bulgaria’s democratic electoral system, and there have been several transfers of power between rival parties in recent decades. The country continues to struggle with political corruption and organized crime, and the political discourse is marred by hate speech against minority groups and foreigners, especially from smaller right-wing parties. While the media sector remains pluralistic, ownership concentration is a growing problem, and news outlets often tailor coverage to suit the interests of their owners. Journalists sometimes encounter threats or violence in the course of their work. Ethnic minorities, particularly Roma, face discrimination. Despite funding shortages and other obstacles, civil society groups have been active and influential. Key Developments in 2016 • Rumen Radev, a candidate endorsed by the center-left opposition, defeated a government-backed rival in the November presidential election. Incumbent Rosen Plevneliev had decided not to seek reelection. • Following the election, the right-leaning prime minister resigned, meaning snap parliamentary elections would likely be held in early 2017. • In September, amid growing nationalist hostility toward Muslim migrants, the parliament passed a nationwide ban on face-covering clothing in public places. Executive Summary A coalition government led by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his center-right party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), held power for most of 2016. However, it began to weaken in May, when the left-leaning Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) party withdrew its support.
    [Show full text]
  • KAS MP SOE Redebeitrag AM En
    REPORT Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Foundation Media Democracy MEDIA MONITORING LABORATORY February 2016 THE DILEMMA OF THE MEDIA: JOURNALISM OR PROPAGANDA www.fmd.bg www.kas.de The Foundation Media Democracy (FMD) • An apathetic campaign for the local and the Media Program South East Europe elections which were held in October, where of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) media proved themselves to care more present their joint annual report on the about how they could profit from political state of the Bulgarian media environment advertising funds, allocated by the parties, in 2015. This study summarises the trends than about providing a stage for genuine in the coverage of socio-political debates among participants in the election developments in the country. race. The analyses in the report are conducted by • Examples of unprecedented attacks the research team of the Media Monitoring against the Council for Electronic Media Laboratory of FMD: Nikoleta Daskalova, (SEM) in the context of political strife. Media Gergana Kutseva, Eli Aleksandrova, Vladimir regulation was seriously threatened. At the Kisimdarov, Lilia Lateva, Marina Kirova, same time important debates and long- Ph.D., Silvia Petrova, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. needed amendments to the media Todor Todorov, as well as by the guest legislation were not initiated. experts Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov, Prof. Snezhana Popova and Prof. Totka Monova. In light of the above, the main conclusions The team was led by Assoc. Prof. Orlin by areas of monitoring can be summarised, Spasov. A part of the monitoring is based as follows: on quantitative and qualitative data, prepared by Market Links Agency for the NATIONAL TELEVISIONS, DAILY joint analysis of FMD and KAS.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom in the World Report 2020
    Bulgaria | Freedom House Page 1 of 17 BulgariaFREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2020 80 FREE /100 Political Rights 34 Civil Liberties 46 80 Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology. TOP Overview https://freedomhouse.org/country/bulgaria/freedom-world/2020 7/24/2020 Bulgaria | Freedom House Page 2 of 17 Bulgaria’s democratic system holds competitive elections and has seen several transfers of power in recent decades. The country continues to struggle with political corruption and organized crime. The media sector is less pluralistic, as ownership concentration has considerably increased in the last 10 years. Journalists encounter threats and even violence in the course of their work and are sometimes fired for not following the editorial line. Ethnic minorities, particularly Roma, face discrimination. Despite funding shortages and other obstacles, civil society groups have been active and influential. Key Developments in 2019 • In December, the parliament reinstituted the state subsidies for political parties, which had controversially been cut in July. The July amendment to the Political Parties Act also lifted the ceiling on donations for political parties by private persons, businesses, and other organizations. • In September, the director general of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) removed a prominent journalist from a live-broadcast and suspended BNR programming for an unprecedented five hours. Civil society’s strong reaction prompted the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the events. BNR’s director was ousted in October. • In September, an outcry from right-wing political groups claimed the judiciary’s independence was threatened, after an Australian national, convicted of killing a law student in 2007, was granted parole.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of European and National Election Results Update: September 2019
    REVIEW OF EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL ELECTION RESULTS UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2019 A Public Opinion Monitoring Publication REVIEW OF EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL ELECTION RESULTS UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2019 Directorate-General for Communication Public Opinion Monitoring Unit May 2019 - PE 640.149 IMPRESSUM AUTHORS Philipp SCHULMEISTER, Head of Unit (Editor) Alice CHIESA, Marc FRIEDLI, Dimitra TSOULOU MALAKOUDI, Matthias BÜTTNER Special thanks to EP Liaison Offices and Members’ Administration Unit PRODUCTION Katarzyna ONISZK Manuscript completed in September 2019 Brussels, © European Union, 2019 Cover photo: © Andrey Kuzmin, Shutterstock.com ABOUT THE PUBLISHER This paper has been drawn up by the Public Opinion Monitoring Unit within the Directorate–General for Communication (DG COMM) of the European Parliament. To contact the Public Opinion Monitoring Unit please write to: [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSION Original: EN DISCLAIMER This document is prepared for, and primarily addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament. TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORIAL 1 1. COMPOSITION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 5 DISTRIBUTION OF SEATS OVERVIEW 1979 - 2019 6 COMPOSITION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LAST UPDATE (31/07/2019) 7 CONSTITUTIVE SESSION (02/07/2019) AND OUTGOING EP SINCE 1979 8 PROPORTION OF WOMEN AND MEN PROPORTION - LAST UPDATE 02/07/2019 28 PROPORTIONS IN POLITICAL GROUPS - LAST UPDATE 02/07/2019 29 PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN POLITICAL GROUPS - SINCE 1979 30 2. NUMBER OF NATIONAL PARTIES IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CONSTITUTIVE SESSION 31 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Where You Can Read the Full Country Chapter
    Bulgaria During 2016, a series of important conversations were initiated in Bulgaria. These discussions did not lead to concrete policy changes during the year, but their subjects were of great relevance to LGBTI people. The Ministry of Justice working group on changes to the penal code included the voices of LGBTI NGOs. Its recommendation to include anti-LGBT bias as aggravating circumstances in criminal cases was particularly welcome when you consider the absence of any protection for LGBTI people against hate crime or hate speech on the Bulgarian statute books. A similar lack of protection for intersex people against human rights violations is also an issue; one of the most invasive of these is so-called ‘normalising’ surgery. The impact of these procedures and the need to stop the practice was discussed by intersex activists and medical students, with plans made for further interaction. The impact of the 2016 discussions between LGBTI activists and the authorities remains to be seen, as the work of the justice working group was put on hold until after elections, planned for 2017. The largest ever Sofia Pride is another milestone that activists hope can be replicated in the coming year. For more information on developments in 2016, visit www.rainbow-europe.org where you can read the full country chapter. ILGA-Europe Annual Review 2017 65 Legal and policy situation in Bulgaria as of 31 December 2016 Asylum Civil society space Equality & non-discrimination Legal gender recognition & bodily integrity Family Hate crime & hate speech In order to improve the legal and policy situation of LGBTI people, ILGA-Europe recommend: Developing a fair, transparent legal framework for legal gender recognition, based on a process of self-determination, free from abusive requirements (such as sterilisation, GID/medical diagnosis, or surgical/medical intervention).
    [Show full text]
  • The Reality Behind the Rhetoric Surrounding the British
    ‘May Contain Nuts’? The reality behind the rhetoric surrounding the British Conservatives’ new group in the European Parliament Tim Bale, Seán Hanley, and Aleks Szczerbiak Forthcoming in Political Quarterly, January/March 2010 edition. Final version accepted for publication The British Conservative Party’s decision to leave the European Peoples’ Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) group in the European Parliament (EP) and establish a new formation – the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) – has attracted a lot of criticism. Leading the charge have been the Labour government and left-liberal newspapers like the Guardian and the Observer, but there has been some ‘friendly fire’ as well. Former Conservative ministers - so-called ‘Tory grandees’ - and some of the party’s former MEPs have joined Foreign Office veterans in making their feelings known, as have media titles which are by no means consistently hostile to a Conservative Party that is at last looking likely to return to government.1 Much of the criticism originates from the suspicion that the refusal of other centre-right parties in Europe to countenance leaving the EPP has forced the Conservatives into an alliance with partners with whom they have – or at least should have – little in common. We question, or at least qualify, this assumption by looking in more detail at the other members of the ECR. We conclude that, while they are for the most part socially conservative, they are less extreme and more pragmatic than their media caricatures suggest. We also note that such caricatures ignore some interesting incompatibilities within the new group as a whole and between some of its Central and East European members and the Conservatives, not least 1 with regard to their foreign policy preoccupations and their by no means wholly hostile attitude to the European integration project.
    [Show full text]