Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2001
Encyclopedia
Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria
on 17 June 2001. The result was a victory for the National Movement – Simeon II, which won 120 of the 240 seats. Voter turnout was 67.0%. Following the election, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
, the country's last Tsar, became Prime Minister after forming a coalition with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms
, the party representing the Turkish minority.
, marking the first occasion since the fall of Communism that a full term had been completed. A total of 65 parties registered for the elections, together with eleven independents.
National Movement – Simeon II was originally prevented from registering by Sofia City Court as it failed to meet the Central Election Committee's requirements. However, after forming an alliance with the Bulgarian Women's Party and the Movement for National Revival, the party was allowed to register.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
on 17 June 2001. The result was a victory for the National Movement – Simeon II, which won 120 of the 240 seats. Voter turnout was 67.0%. Following the election, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Simeon Borisov of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Tsar Simeon II or Simeon II of Bulgaria is an important political and royal figure in Bulgaria...
, the country's last Tsar, became Prime Minister after forming a coalition with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms
Movement for Rights and Freedoms
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms is an ethnic Turkish party in Bulgaria. The MRF is a member of the Liberal International and considers itself a liberal party, rather like the Swedish People's Party - party of the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland...
, the party representing the Turkish minority.
Background
The elections came four years after the last parliamentary elections in 1997Bulgarian parliamentary election, 1997
Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 19 April 1997. The result was a victory for the United Democratic Forces , which won 137 of the 240 seats. Voter turnout was 62.9%...
, marking the first occasion since the fall of Communism that a full term had been completed. A total of 65 parties registered for the elections, together with eleven independents.
National Movement – Simeon II was originally prevented from registering by Sofia City Court as it failed to meet the Central Election Committee's requirements. However, after forming an alliance with the Bulgarian Women's Party and the Movement for National Revival, the party was allowed to register.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Movement – Simeon II | 1,952,513 | 42.74 | 120 | New |
| United Democratic Forces United Democratic Forces The United Democratic Forces were a center-right electoral alliance in Bulgaria, led by the Union of Democratic Forces.-Members of the coalition:1997 *Union of Democratic Forces... |
830,338 | 18.18 | 51 | −86 |
| Bulgarian Socialist Party Bulgarian Socialist Party The Bulgarian Socialist Party is social-democratic political party in Bulgaria and successor to the Bulgarian Communist Party. The BSP is a member of the Party of European Socialists and Socialist International, and is currently led by Sergei Stanishev.... |
783,372 | 17.15 | 48 | −10 |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms Movement for Rights and Freedoms The Movement for Rights and Freedoms is an ethnic Turkish party in Bulgaria. The MRF is a member of the Liberal International and considers itself a liberal party, rather like the Swedish People's Party - party of the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland... |
340,395 | 7.45 | 21 | |
| VRMO IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement The IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement is a nationalist political party in Bulgaria. The abbreviation IMRO references the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, a historic Bulgarian-established revolutionary political organization in the Macedonia and Thrace regions. IMRO – BNM's current... -George's Day Movement George's Day Movement The George's Day Movement is a nationalist political party in Bulgaria. The movement didn't win any seat in the 2001 elections.... |
165,927 | 3.63 | 0 | New |
| Simeon II Coalition | 157,141 | 3.44 | 0 | New |
| National Union for Tsar Simeon II | 77,671 | 1.70 | 0 | New |
| Bulgarian Social Democracy | 44,637 | 0.98 | 0 | 0 |
| Union Bulgaria | 33,637 | 0.74 | 0 | New |
| Coalition "National Union Tzar Kiro" | 27,636 | 0.6 | 0 | New |
| NU Fatherland and Left | 21,851 | 0.48 | 0 | New |
| George Ganchev's Bloc George Ganchev's Bloc George Ganchev's Bloc was a political party in Bulgaria, founded by George Ganchev ahead of the 2001 elections. Ganchev had previously been the president of the Bulgarian Business Bloc.... |
17,272 | 0.38 | 0 | New |
| UAF-BAPU Bulgarian Agrarian National Union Bulgarian Agrarian National Union also tiranslated to English as Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union is a political party devoted to representing the causes of the Bulgarian peasantry. It was most powerful between 1900 and 1923. In practice, it was an agrarian movement... -BAPU NP Bulgarian Agrarian National Union Bulgarian Agrarian National Union also tiranslated to English as Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union is a political party devoted to representing the causes of the Bulgarian peasantry. It was most powerful between 1900 and 1923. In practice, it was an agrarian movement... |
15,504 | 0.34 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgarian Workers' Party | 12,579 | 0.28 | 0 | New |
| Democratic Party of Justice | 10,822 | 0.24 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgarian Socialist Workers' Party | 10,797 | 0.24 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgarian Communist Party "Fatherland" | 9,373 | 0.21 | 0 | New |
| Patriotism 2000 | 6,077 | 0.13 | 0 | New |
| Union of Patriotic Forces and Militaries of the Reserve Defense Union of Patriotic Forces and Militaries of the Reserve Defense The Union of Patriotic Forces and Militaries of the Reserve Zashtita is a nationalist political party in Bulgaria. It is part of the Union Attack, which won 9.0 % of the popular vote and 22 out of 240 seats during the June 25, 2005 legislative elections.... |
5,227 | 0.11 | 0 | New |
| Bulgarian Democratic Party for United States of Europe and the World | 4,804 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 |
| MDRUSWC-FPFB | 4,740 | 0.10 | 0 | New |
| Bulgarian National Party "Social Union" | 4,439 | 0.10 | 0 | New |
| Alternative Social-Liberal Party Alternative Social-Liberal Party Alternative Social-Liberal Party , was founded on February 11, 1990 as the Alternative Socialist Party . The party was formed previously by a minority fraction of the Bulgarian Communist Party.The party was registered on March 7, 1990 with first president Nikolay Vasilev... |
4,267 | 0.09 | 0 | New |
| Free Cooperative Party | 3,935 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgarian National-Radical Party | 3,018 | 0.07 | 0 | 0 |
| Social Liberal Movement "Justice" | 2,715 | 0.06 | 0 | New |
| National Movement for New Era | 2,462 | 0.05 | 0 | New |
| Fatherland Party of Labour | 1,601 | 0.04 | 0 | New |
| Alliance for Preservation of the Wealth of Bulgaria | 1,414 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
| Party of the Workers' and Social Democratic Intelligentsia | 1,033 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
| Bulgarian Fatherland Party "National Union" | 623 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
| NPLPOPC | 524 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
| Bulgarian National Front | 202 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Bulgarian Business Bloc | 162 | 0.0 | 0 | −12 |
| Party of the Middle Class | 79 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Union of the Nation – Movement of the Deprived | 39 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 9,365 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 39,944 | – | – | – |
| Total | 4,608,135 | 100 | 240 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver, University of Essex | ||||