The sixth Presidential election since 1992 in Bulgaria was held over two rounds on 6 and 13 November 2016. Outgoing President, Rosen Plevneliev, in office since 2011, decided not to seek re-election. Three referendum questions were also put to the Bulgarian people on 6 November, relating to the voting system, electoral rules and state subsidies given to political parties. The final result of both the Presidential election and the referendum will make for many developments in Bulgarian politics over the coming months.

Background

A total of 21 candidates contested the first round of the Presidential election on 6 November 2016. According to the voting system, candidates who gain 50 per cent of the vote are deemed elected, if the national turnout exceeds 50 per cent of the electorate. If no candidate gains such a majority, a run-off election between the two top candidates is required to be held in seven days. An estimated 6.8 million people were eligible to vote, from a population of 7.3 million.

Among the most well-known candidates for election were the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, from the ruling centre-right party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), and former Bulgarian Air Force Commander and fighter pilot, General Rumen Radev, backed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party. While most power resides with the Prime Minister and the Parliament, the President retains certain powers, including the right to veto legislation, sign international treaties and appoint Ambassadors. The President, who serves for a 5-year term, renewable once, is also the head of Bulgaria’s armed forces.

A referendum asking three questions was also held on 6 November, after a petition initiated by TV host and musician, Slavi Trifonov, gained more than the required 400,000 signatures to hold a national vote. Out of six questions originally proposed, three were asked:

• Do you support the election of national representatives through a first-past-the-post system in two rounds?
• Do you support the introduction of compulsory voting in elections and referenda?
• Do you support a state subsidy allocated to fund political parties of 1 Bulgarian Lev per every valid vote received in the last Parliamentary elections? (A reduction from 11 Lev previously allocated.)

Previous changes to electoral law passed by Parliament in April 2016 had already made voting compulsory for Presidential and Parliamentary elections. These changes had also provided voters with the option on election ballot papers not to vote for any candidate.

Presidential Election First Round

The Socialist Party-backed candidate, General Radev, finished top of the poll in the first round, with 25.7 per cent of the vote. GERB candidate, Ms Tsacheva, came in second with 22 per cent. Despite turnout reaching 57 per cent of the electorate, none of the candidates gained 50 per cent of the vote, leaving the two candidates to face off in a second vote on 13 November 2016.

Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, had hinged his leadership on the GERB candidate winning the first round vote. After Ms Tsacheva failed to top the poll, Prime Minister Borisov instead promised to resign if she failed to win the run-off vote.

Referendum

All three amendments were approved by the Bulgarian electorate, with 74.2 per cent in favour of the first-past-the-post voting system, 65.6 per cent in favour of compulsory voting, and 78.1 per cent in favour of reducing state subsidies to political parties. In order for the Parliament to be bound by referendum results, turnout needs to match that of the previous nationwide election. In this case, the 2014 Parliamentary elections saw turnout at 51 per cent. Turnout for the 2016 referendum fell short of the required figure by roughly 13,000 votes, although it was higher than the 20 per cent threshold required to make a debate on the referendum issues mandatory in Parliament. The initiator of the referendum, Mr Trifonov, lodged an appeal against the result, citing irregularities which he believes resulted in lower turnout figures.

Presidential Election Second Round

The second round of the Presidential election took place on 13 November between General Radev and Ms Tsacheva. General Radev won the run-off vote, achieving 59.4 per cent, while Ms Tsacheva won 36.2 per cent. Turnout was 48 per cent.

In the wake of the GERB defeat, Prime Minister Borisov submitted his resignation to Parliament. Early Parliamentary elections will now be called, expected for spring 2017, while outgoing President Plevneliev will appoint a caretaker government for the interim period.

President-elect Radev is due to take office on 22 January 2017. He favours closer ties to Russia and supports lifting EU sanctions imposed since 2014, but also favours Bulgaria’s membership of the EU and NATO.

This Just the Facts article is also available as an email information service from European Movement Ireland to our members. For more information on becoming a member of European Movement Ireland, contact our offices or visit our Membership webpages.