Bulgaria - Parliamentary Elections - 02 October 2022
On 02 August 2022, following the no-confidence vote in parliament and three returned mandates to form a new government, in line with the Constitution, President Rumen Radev dissolved the parliament, appointed a provisional government, and set early parliamentary elections for 2 October. These elections took place amid widespread disillusionment with the political establishment and voter fatigue from three consecutive parliamentary elections since April 2021. The pre-election environment was characterized by a fragmented political landscape, growing socio-economic concerns, and polarized discourse around the energy policies and the war caused by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. For nine of the 17 months preceding the elections, Bulgaria has been governed by appointed provisional governments.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: cruel or degrading treatment by authorities, including of detainees, migrants, and displaced and institutionalized children; arbitrary arrest; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious government corruption; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of the Roma community; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons. There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. Individuals generally criticized the government without official reprisal.
The constitution and law provide for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right. Concerns persisted, however, that corporate and political pressure, an ineffective and corrupt judiciary, and nontransparent government regulation of resources meant to support media (including EU funds), gravely damaged media pluralism.
In March 2022 Amnesty International stated in its Report on the State of the World’s Human Rights that “media freedom continued to deteriorate, and journalists and independent media outlets who investigated crime and corruption faced frequent threats and smear campaigns, including by public officials.” Reporters without Borders (known by its French acronym, RSF) stated in its 2022 World Press Freedom Index that the editorial independence of public media suffered from the appointment of politically affiliated members of the electronic media regulator, while private media were influenced by their owners’ “interests in regulated sectors.”
The law provides for the right to freedom of association and the government generally respected it. Authorities continued to deny registration of ethnic-Macedonian activist groups such as the United Macedonian Organization-Ilinden, United Macedonian Organization-Ilinden Blagoevgrad, and the Society of Oppressed Macedonians-Victims of Communist Terror, despite numerous prior decisions by the ECHR that the denials violated the groups’ freedom of association.
In June the Blagoevgrad district court confirmed the Registration Agency’s decision denying registration of the United Macedonian Organization-Ilinden Blagoevgrad on the grounds that the group’s goals, including official recognition of a Macedonian minority, would threaten the national security of the country, and stated that while “the right of association is a fundamental human right, it ceases to be such when it undermines public order.” The groups complained that instead of providing instructions on how to correct the faults in their applications, authorities treated them as irreparable, interpreting the law through an ideological lens that made it impossible to register an organization that focused its activity on ethnic Macedonians.
The prosecution service reported opening 956 pretrial investigations for corruption and related crimes in 2021, drawing 342 indictments involving 425 persons, and obtaining 288 convictions. In July the Anticorruption Fund reported that out of the 49 investigations against high-profile former ministers, deputy ministers, National Assembly members, magistrates, mayors, and regional governors it had monitored in the previous six years, three had resulted in convictions and 14 in not guilty verdicts.
No Confidence 22 June 2022
Lawmakers toppled the government of Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov after a no-confidence vote 22 June 2022 over its fiscal and economic policies. The move potentially set the stage for a fresh round of elections. However, Petkov's centrist PP party had a second chance to propose a government to lawmakers. The vote to topple the goverment, which only came to power 6 months ago, was a narrow one with 123 delegates voting in favor and 116 against. The vote comes after the ruling coalition lost its majority amid disputes over budget spending and Sofia's blocking of North Macedonia's EU accession.
The coalition started to look shaky soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which accentuated divisions with the government. While Petkov had taken a strong pro-European and pro-NATO position since the war began, Bulgaria had strong historical ties with Moscow. Petkov sacked his defense minister shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine for refusing to call it a "war." Earlier, the anti-establishment ITN party led by entertainer Slavi Trifonov withdrew its support from the coalition. Borisov's conservative GERB party quickly filed a no-confidence motion that cited "the failure of the government's economic and financial policy" amid soaring inflation.
Petkov said it was an honor to be overthrown by rival party leaders Borissov and Trifonov, also blaming Bulgarian oligarch and media mogul Delyan Peevski and Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova. "This vote is a small step on a long road. They did not understand that this is not the way to win the Bulgarian people," Petkov said, referring to his opponents. The 42-year-old Harvard graduate promised he would continue fighting for Bulgaria to be a "normal" European state.
The country would soon face its fourth general election since April 2021. Millions of euros from EU recovery funds could be at risk, as well as the country's plans to adopt the euro in 2024. Petkov could avoid fresh elections and formal coalition talks with other parties if there are enough defections among lawmakers to garner support for a new government. Otherwise, it is thought that fresh polls could benefit Borissov's GERB party — as well as pro-Russian parties like the nationalist Revival.
The Ministry of Interior conducted a campaign against vote buying across the country ahead of the October 2 early National Assembly elections. The prosecution service reported opening 72 cases and more than 750 inquiries as well as pressing charges against 14 persons as of October 3. Roma Coalition Intellect and other Roma activists alleged the campaign was predominantly focused on Roma neighborhoods and aimed to stigmatize, intimidate, and disenfranchise Romani voters.
Elected candidates were officially announced on 07 October 2022. Six previously represented political parties and one new party gained representation in the new parliament. GERB-SDS won 67 seats, followed by PP with 53, DPS with 36, Revival with 27, BSP with 25, DB with 20, and the newcomer Bulgarian Rise with 12 mandates. Some 3.4 per cent of votes were cast against all contestants. Nine political parties and coalitions met the eligibility threshold to receive annual public funding. The new parliament was inaugurated on 19 October. Following the announcement of the list of elected members of parliament (MPs), a number of prospective MPs, including those elected by preferential votes, refused their mandates, which were then assigned by the CEC to the next candidate on the respective list. The Constitution and the Election Code do not clearly regulate such withdrawals before the elected MPs take oath.132 This gap is filled by CEC practice, which detracts from the legality of the process and weakens procedural guarantees for the elected candidates.
As with the three sets of elections held in 2021, no party won a majority in the 240-member National Assembly. Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria – Union of Democratic Forces (GERB–UDF), the party of the former Prime Minister Boyko Borrisov, emerged as the largest party with 67 seats. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s party, We Continue the Change, came second with 53 seats. The newly elected National Assembly held its first session on 19 October but failed to elect a new Speaker for the first time in its history. On 21 October, it finally elected Mr. Vezhdi Rashidov (GERB–UDF) as its new Speaker. His candidacy was supported by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Bulgarian Rise (BV). On 5 December, two months after the snap elections, President Rumen Radev tasked GERB–UDF with forming a new government within a week.
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