Bulgaria - Political Profile

Political History

The Bulgarian State was restored in 1878. Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Bulgarian Prince since 1887, proclaimed Bulgaria's independence from Turkey and in 1908 became king of Bulgaria. Bulgaria took part in the Balkan War (1912). In the subsequent war among the allies (1913) Bulgaria was defeated. The intervention of Bulgaria in World War I on the side of the Central Powers led to severe losses (Source: http://www.government.bg 14.12.2005).

The interwar years were characterised by social problems, communist uprisings and economic crises. In September 1923 thousands of agrarian and communist agitators were killed in a reactionary campaign. Bulgaria sided with Germany at the outbreak of WWII, but towards the end of WWII, Bulgaria sided with the Soviet Union. In 1944, the Soviet Army entered Bulgaria and the Fatherland Front Government came to power.

Bulgaria was proclaimed a People's Republic in 1946. Todor Zhivkov became Communist Party general secretary in 1954 and remained head of the Communist Party until 1989, the longest serving leader in the Soviet bloc. Bulgarian troops took part in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

10 November 1989 marked the beginning of transition to democracy in Bulgaria. The 1990’s were years of political and economic turmoil. The Bulgarian Socialist Party (originating in the former Communist party) won the free Parliamentary elections amidst the economic crisis, but the Government resigned due to mass demonstrations and general strike.

The new Constitution was adopted in 1991. In 1992 Zhelyu Zhelev became the first democratically elected President. The former Communist leader Todor Zhivkov was sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption in office in 1992 (the sentence was later overturned) (Source: BBC News Timeline Bulgaria 26.4.2005) ).

The mass privatisation programme, which began in 1993, marked the beginning of the transition to a market economy.

In 1994, a year later, the Socialist Party returned to power. The economic crisis led to mass protests in the winter 1996/97 and the establishment of the UDF government under Prime Minister Ivan Kostov. The former King Simeon II's party, National Movement Simeon II (NMS), won the parliamentary elections in 2001. Winner of the latest parliamentary elections of 25 June 2005 was the Socialist-led Coalition for Bulgaria (BSP).

Political System

The present Constitution provides for a multi-party parliamentary system and free elections and separates the legislative, the executive and the judicial power.

The 240-seat National Assembly, or Parliament, is vested with the legislative power. The Members of Parliament are directly elected for a 4-year term on the basis of proportional representation. Parties and political coalitions need 4% of the popular vote to qualify. The President serves as Head of State, and is directly elected every 5 years for a maximum of two-terms. President Georgi Purvanov was elected in January 2002. The next presidential elections will be held in 2006.

The Council of Ministers (the Government), chaired by the Prime Minister, currently consists of 18 ministers. The Prime Minister is primarily nominated by the largest parliamentary group and is given a mandate by the President to form a cabinet.

The Bulgarian judicial system has a four-level court structure containing three separate instances: regional courts, district courts, appeal courts and a Supreme Court of Cassation. A Supreme Judicial Council is in charge of the self-administration and organisation of the judiciary. The Constitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of laws and statutes brought before it. Bulgaria is divided in 28 regions, each headed by a regional governor, who is appointed by the Government. The 263 municipalities form the basis for administrative and territorial self-government.

Current Political Situation

Parliamentary elections were held on 25 June 2005 according to a proportional system with ballot lists of parties, coalitions, and independent candidates registered in 31 multi-mandate constituencies.

Seven political forces exceeded the 4 % barrier:

• Socialist-led Coalition "Coalition for Bulgaria", 33.98% of the votes.
• "National Movement Simeon the Second", 21.83% of the votes.
• "Movement for Rights and Freedoms", 14.07% of the votes.
• Coalition "Attack", 8.93 % of the votes.
• Coalition "United Democratic Forces", 8.44 % of the votes.
• "Democrats for Strong Bulgaria", 7.07 % of the votes.
• Coalition "Bulgarian Popular Union". 5.70 % of the votes.

Almost two months after the elections the Coalition for Bulgaria (BSP) as now strongest party in the Bulgarian Parliament, the National Movement Simeon II (NMS/party of outgoing government of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) and the Movement of Rights and Freedoms (MRF) signed a coalition agreement in August 2005. The new government is headed by Sergey Stanishev as Prime Minister and the distribution of the 17 (not taking into account the Prime Minister) ministerial seats between the three parties BSP/NSM/MRF is as follows: 8/5/3 (with one Minister being non-partisan):

 

The new coalition Government currently holds a total of 169 seats in Parliament and therefore enjoys a constitutional majority (more than 2/3), constituting the biggest parliamentary majority in Bulgaria’s democratic history.

Comprehensive Monitoring Report 2005 (Political criteria)

In the Comprehensive Monitoring Report 2005 , the European Commission confirmed, that Bulgaria, as in previous years, continues to fulfil the political criteria for membership. Overall, it has reached a satisfactory level of compliance with EU requirements. Nevertheless, further action is needed in a number of important areas: As regards public administration reform, Bulgaria still needs to complete the legislative framework guaranteeing the principles of legality, accountability, reliability and predictability in the workings of the public administration. Also, further efforts are needed to strengthen local and regional administration in the context of decentralisation. The White Paper on the Modernisation of the Administration adopted by the Government in April 2004 now needs to be put into practice.

Important legislative steps have been taken in relation to the judiciary. However, progress in the reform of the pre-trial phase remains limited and the justice system continues to suffer from a lack of accountability. The procedures for administering justice remain cumbersome and slow.

The main problem in combating corruption effectively remains the weak results in the investigation and prosecution of high-level corruption cases. While efforts to combat corruption have had a certain impact, notably in relation to petty corruption, generally the perception remains that corruption continues to be a cause for concern.

In the area of human rights and the protection of minorities, more effort needs to be made to combat efficiently the trafficking of human beings and to improve conditions in a number of state institutions for children and people with disabilities. Further progress is needed in the process of de-institutionalisation and in improving the management of the mental health care system. Sustained efforts are required to realise the effective integration of the Roma minority. The Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma into the Bulgarian Society should be implemented as planned.

Other main issues

Bulgaria was hit by a series of heavy rains between May and August 2005 leading to massive floods in large parts of the country. This caused serious damages to the national road and railway infrastructure. A number of roads, bridges and railway lines had to be temporarily closed or were destroyed. According to estimates, the financial damage may amount to up to BGN 1 billion (€ 500 million).

A foreign affairs issue which raises concern in Bulgaria and internationally is the case of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in May 2004 by a Libyan court on charges of having deliberately infected around 450 children with HIV/AIDS in Benghazi, Libya. The defence appealed to the verdict. The Bulgarian nurses have been detained since February 1999.

Earlier in February 2005, the Bulgarian government approved sending another 30 soldiers to boost the 50-strong Bulgarian Armed Forces for participation in the operation of International Security Assistance Force ISAF in Afghanistan. Bulgaria has committed to expand its participation in Afghanistan missions as the leading country to provide for the security of Kabul Airport in June – September 2006. Bulgaria, member of the NATO since 2004, has currently also a battalion of several hundred soldiers (under Polish command) in Iraq, but is going to withdraw them in the first quarter of 2006.