At Stake in this Election: 

• All 240 seats of the National Assembly of Bulgaria 

European Parliament elections, including contests for 17 Bulgarian seats, will occur concurrently.

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Rumen RADEV (since 22 January 2017) 

• Head of Government: Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar GLAVCHEV (since 9 April 2024) 

• Assembly: unicameral National Assembly (Народно събрание / Narodno Sabranie) with 240 seats

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in up to two rounds. The president may serve up to two 5-year terms. 

• The Prime Minister is elected by the National Assembly. 

• Members of the National Assembly are directly elected by proportional representation vote in multi-seat constituencies. Parties and coalitions must earn at least 4% of the overall vote to receive a seat. Members serve 4-year terms.

Last Election: 

In the 2023 snap election, six coalitions and parties won seats led by GERB-SDS with 64 seats. Voter turnout was 39.11%.

New/Unique in this Election:  

This will be Bulgaria’s sixth legislative election since 2021. President Radev dissolved the National Assembly in March of 2024 and called a snap election after the governing coalition fell apart.

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 7 May 2024 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A; Voter registration is passive and residence-based.

Main Parties in this Election: 

• GERB-UDF / ГЕРБ - СДС 

• Leader: Boyko BORISOV 

• Seats won in last election: 69 out of 240 

• We Continue the Change + Democratic Bulgaria / Продължаваме промяната + Демократична България (PP-DB) 

• Leader: Kiril PETKOV 

• Seats won in last election: 64 out of 240 

• REVIVAL / Възраждане 

• Leader: Kostadin KOSTADINOV 

• Seats won in last election: 37 out of 240 

• Movement for Rights and Freedoms / Движение за права и свободи (DPS) 

• Leader: Mustafa KARADAYI 

• Seats won in last election: 36 out of 240 

• BSP for Bulgaria / БСП за България (BSPzB) 

• Leader: Korneliya NINOVA 

• Seats won in last election: 23 out of 240 

• There Is Such a People / Има такъв народ (ITN) 

• Leader: Stanislav TRIFONOV 

• Seats won in last election: 11 out of 240

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 6,465,100 (2022 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 6,639,449 (2024)

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 3,329,960 (2022 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 July 1980, Ratified 8 February 1982 

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 61 out of 240 (25.4%) in the National Assembly 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.799, High, Rank 70 (2022) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 18.9 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 27 September 2007, Ratified 22 March 2012 

• Projected population with a disability: 1,034,416 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Bulgaria: Yes, programming  

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 2 judgments & 22 resources