| National Assembly of Bulgaria Народно събрание |
|
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Tsetska Tsacheva, GERB since 14 July 2009 |
| Members | 240 |
| Political groups | GERB (117) BSP (40) DPS (37) Ataka (21) BC (15) RZS (10) |
| Elections | |
| Last election | Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2009 |
| Meeting place | |
| National Assembly, Sofia | |
| Website | |
| http://parliament.bg/ | |
The National Assembly of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and body of the legislative of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The National Assembly of Bulgaria was established in 1879 with the Constitution of Bulgaria.
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The National Assembly consists of 240 members elected for a four-year term. 209 of the representatives are elected by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies and 31 are elected in single-seat constituencies according to the last amendment of the Electoral law governing parliamentary elections, promulgated SG 36th edition on 15th of May 2009. Political parties must gather a minimum of 4% of the national vote in order to enter the Assembly. Bulgaria has a multi-party system. Obtaining of all state power by a single party is forbidden according to the articles of 1991 Constitution of Bulgaria.
The Assembly is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers, declaration of war, concluding peace and deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. It is headed and presided by the Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria.
The Assembly administers the publication of the State Gazette, Bulgaria's gazette of record.
In addition to the ordinary National Assembly, a Grand National Assembly (Велико народно събрание, Veliko narodno sabranie) may be convened in order for matters of special jurisdiction, such as: 1) Adoption of a new Constitution; 2) Amendment of certain articles of the Constitution, e.g. those related with the basic civil rights; 3) Changes in the territory (gain or loss) of the Rebublic, etc. Before the World War II the Grand National Assembly was also competent in electing the Regency of the Bulgarian Kingdom if the tzar has not come to age. The First and the Third Grand National Assemblies also elected the first two Bulgarian monarchs after the liberation from the Turkish yoke - The Grand Duke (Knjaz) Alexander Battenberg and the Grand Duke (Knjaz) Ferdinand Saxe Coburg-Gotha.
As an organ, the Grand National Assembly was introduced with the Tarnovo Constitution of 1879, abolished in 1947 and reintroduced with the 1991 constitution. In different constitutional provisions, it was constituted by a different number of representatives. According to the 1991 Constitution, it consists of 400 deputies (as opposed to 240 in the ordinary one). The 1991 Constitution was adopted by the Seventh Grand National Assembly and was composed of 200 members being elected by proportional representation and the other 200 by majoritarian representation. The Constitution provides that the elections for Grand National Assembly shall be conduvted by the same manner as those for the Ordinary National Assembly.
A qualified majority of 2/3 during three voting procedures on separate dates is required for a decision to be made. The Grand National Assembly can also serve as an ordinary National Assembly, taking care of regular legislative activities, in urgent cases only. After it has concluded its work on the matter for which it was elected, the Grand National Assembly is dissolved ex lege and the President of the Republic shall appoint elections for an ordinary National Assembly.
A total of seven Grand National Assemblies have been in operation in Bulgaria, the last one from 10 July 1990 to 12 July 1991 adopting the current constitution.
The National Assembly's main building has been proclaimed a monument of culture for its historic significance. Situated in downtown Sofia, it was designed in Neo-Renaissance style by Konstantin Jovanović, a Serbian-Bulgarian architect who received his education in Vienna and Switzerland and whose other works include the Parliament of Serbia building. It was constructed between 1884 and 1886 by Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Liebe, a young builder from Saxony who was only 22 years old when construction began.[1]
The building is depicted on the reverse of the Bulgarian 20 leva banknote, issued in 1999 and 2007.[2]
Due to insufficient space in the main building, some administrative offices of the National Assembly are now housed by the former headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party, located at the Largo.
This is the composition of the 41st (ordinary) National Assembly of Bulgaria as established by the Bulgarian parliamentary election in 2009.
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria | 1,678,641 | 39.72 | new | 116 | new | |
| Coalition for Bulgaria | 748,147 | 17.70 | −13.3 | 40 | −42 | |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 610,521 | 14.45 | +1.7 | 38 | +4 | |
| National Union Attack | 395,733 | 9.36 | +1.2 | 21 | ±0 | |
| Blue Coalition | 285,662 | 6.76 | −7.3 | 15 | −22 | |
| Order, Law and Justice | 174,582 | 4.13 | new | 10 | new | |
| Lider | 137,795 | 3.26 | new | — | — | |
| National Movement for Stability and Progress | 127,470 | 3.02 | −16.9 | — | −53 | |
| The Greens | 21,841 | 0.52 | new | — | — | |
| For the Homeland | 11,524 | 0.27 | — | — | — | |
| Bulgarian Left Coalition | 8,762 | 0.21 | — | — | — | |
| Union of the Patriotic Forces | 6,426 | 0.15 | — | — | — | |
| Social Democrats | 5,004 | 0.12 | — | — | — | |
| Bulgarian New Democracy | 3,813 | 0.09 | — | — | — | |
| The Other Bulgaria | 3,455 | 0.08 | — | — | — | |
| Party of the Liberal Alternative and Peace | 2,828 | 0.07 | — | — | — | |
| Union of the Bulgarian Patriots | 2,175 | 0.05 | — | — | — | |
| National Movement for the Salvation of the Fatherland | 1,874 | 0.04 | — | — | — | |
| Total valid votes | 4,226,194 | 100.00 | — | 240 | — | |
| Invalid votes | 97,387 | 2.25 | — | — | — | |
| Votes cast (turnout: 60.20%) | 4,323,581 | 100.00 | — | — | — | |
| Registred voters | 7,129,965 | — | — | — | — | |
| Source: Electoral Commission of Bulgaria | ||||||
| Coalitions and parties | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition for Bulgaria | 1,129,196 | 31.0 | 82 | +34 | |
| National Movement Simeon II | 725,314 | 19.9 | 53 | −67 | |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 467,400 | 12.8 | 34 | +13 | |
| National Union Attack | 296,848 | 8.1 | 21 | +21 | |
| United Democratic Forces | 280,323 | 7.7 | 20 | −31 | |
| Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria | 234,788 | 6.4 | 17 | +17 | |
| Bulgarian People's Union | 189,268 | 5.2 | 13 | +13 | |
| Others | 324,050 | 8.8 | 0 | - | |
| Total valid votes | 3,648,177 | 100.0 | 240 | - | |
| Invalid votes | 99,616 | ||||
| Votes cast (turnout: 55.8%) | 3,747,793 | ||||
| Registered voters in the main list | 6,720,941 | ||||
| Source: Electoral Commission of Bulgaria and Adam Carr's Electoral Archive | |||||
Summary of the 2001 National Assembly of Bulgaria election results:
| Party | Votes | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Movement Simeon II | 1,952,513 | 120 | |
| United Democratic Forces | 830,338 | 51 | |
| Coalition for Bulgaria (Bulgarian Socialist Party) | 783,372 | 48 | |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 340,395 | 21 |
Summary of the 1997 National Assembly of Bulgaria election results:
| Party | Votes | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Democratic Forces | 2,223,714 | 137 | |
| Democratic Left (Bulgarian Socialist Party) | 939,308 | 58 | |
| Union for National Salvation (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) | 323,429 | 19 | |
| Euroleft | 234,058 | 14 | |
| Bulgarian Business Block | 209,796 | 12 |
Summary of the 1994 National Assembly of Bulgaria election results:
| Party | Votes | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian Socialist Party | 2,262,943 | 125 | |
| Union of Democratic Forces | 1,260,374 | 69 | |
| Bulgarian People's Union | 338,478 | 18 | |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 283,094 | 15 | |
| Bulgarian Business Block | 245,849 | 13 |
Summary of the 1991 National Assembly of Bulgaria election results:
| Party | Votes | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union of Democratic Forces | 1,903,567 | 110 | |
| Bulgarian Socialist Party | 1,836,050 | 106 | |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 418,168 | 24 |
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