The 2024 European Parliament election in Bulgaria was held on 9 June 2024 as part of the 2024 European Parliament election. This was the country’s fifth parliamentary election since its accession to the EU in 2007, and the first to take place after Brexit. Bulgaria also held a separate national parliamentary election that day.
9 June 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 17 Bulgarian seats in the European Parliament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 33.78% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results by national constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electoral system
The 17 members are elected through semi-open list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency with seats allocated through largest remainder method. The threshold is the number of valid votes divided by the number of members of the European parliament from Bulgaria, which is roughly 5.9%.
All people who have Bulgarian citizenship and a main residence in Bulgarian, Bulgarian citizens without residence in Bulgaria (Bulgarians abroad) and other Union citizens if their main residence is in Bulgaria are entitled to vote in the European elections in Bulgaria. In addition, those eligible to vote must turn 18 years old by election day at the latest and be registered in the voter register/European voter register of a local Bulgarian administration on the deadline date. Voting is compulsory for Bulgarian citizens but the obligation is not enforced and no penalties are envisaged for those who don't vote.
Outgoing delegation
The table shows the detailed composition of the Bulgarian seats at the European Parliament as of 24 January 2024.
| EP Group | Seats | Party | Seats | MEPs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European People's Party | 7 / 17 | Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria | 5 |
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| Union of Democratic Forces | 1 |
| ||||
| Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria | 1 |
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| Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats | 5 / 17 | Bulgarian Socialist Party | 5 |
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| Renew Europe | 3 / 17 | Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 3 |
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| European Conservatives and Reformists | 2 / 17 | VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement | 2 |
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| Total | 17 | |||||
| Source: European Parliament | ||||||
MEPs not standing for re-election
| Name | Party | Date announced | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petar Vitanov | PES-affiliated independent politician (ex BSP member) | 24 April 2024 | |
| Ivo Hristov | BSP | 29 April 2024 | |
| Sergey Stanishev | BSP | 30 April 2024 | |
| Aleksandar Yordanov | SDS | 7 May 2024 | |
| Atidzhe Alieva-Veli | DPS | 7 May 2024 |
Running parties
Contesting parties and coalitions
Below is the official list of parties and coalitions that registered lists for the European Parliamentary elections.
| # | Party or coalition | Ideology | Lead Candidate | 2019 result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | |||||||
| 1 | There is Such a People | Right-wing populism | Ivaylo Vulchev | Did not exist | ||||
| 2 | Peoples Voice | Right-wing populism | Svetoslav Vitkov | 0.31% | 0 / 17 | |||
| 3 | Blue Bulgaria | National Movement for Stability and Progress | Liberalism | Tsveta Kirilova | 1.09% | 0 / 17 | ||
| Conservative Union of the Right | National conservatism Anti-communism | DNP | ||||||
| Bulgarian Democratic Forum | National conservatism Anti-communism | |||||||
| Movement for Democratic Action-DZ | Liberal conservatism | |||||||
| Bulgaria for Citizens Movement | Liberalism | |||||||
| Conservative Bulgaria | National conservatism | 1.15% | 0 / 17 | |||||
| Radical-Democratic Party | Social conservatism Anti-communism | Rise | ||||||
| Bulgarian New Democracy | Liberal conservatism | DNP | ||||||
| Agrarian People's Union | Agrarianism Conservatism | |||||||
| 4 | We Citizens | Bulgarian Spring | Left-wing nationalism | Plamen Paskov | DNP | |||
| Bulgarian Workers-Peasant Party | Marxism-Leninism | |||||||
| Competence, Responsibility and Truth | Populism Euroscepticism | |||||||
| Natsiya | Ultranationalism Hard Euroscepticism | |||||||
| 5 | Independent candidate | Kuzman Iliev | DNP | |||||
| 6 | Bulgarian Voice | Bulgarian Voice | Bulgarian nationalism | Georgi Popov | Did not exist | |||
| Alternative for Bulgaria | National conservatism | |||||||
| 7 | Coalition of the Rose | Bulgarian Social Democracy-EuroLeft | Social Democracy | Aleksandr Tomov | DNP | |||
| United Block of Labour | Social democracy Labourism | |||||||
| Patriotism 2000 | ||||||||
| 8 | Center | Svovoda | Bulgarian nationalism | Vasil Bozhkov | DNP | |||
| Bulgarian Agrarian Party | Agrarianism | |||||||
| National Movement "Center" | Anti-corruption Populism | Did not exist | ||||||
| 9 | Solidary Bulgaria | Bulgarian Left | Democratic socialism | Vanya Grigorova | DNP | |||
| United Social-Democracy | Social democracy | |||||||
| Stand Up.BG | Social democracy Left-wing populism | Did not exist | ||||||
| Solidarity Bulgaria | Labourism Social democracy | 0.48% | 0 / 17 | |||||
| 10 | Unification | Centrism Liberalism | Yani Andreev | Did not exist | ||||
| 11 | Bulgarian National Unification | Bulgarian nationalism National conservatism | Dimitar Bunov | 0.12% | 0 / 17 | |||
| 12 | Revival | Ultra-nationalism Social conservatism | Stanislav Stoyanov | 1.04% | 0 / 17 | |||
| 13 | Morality, Unity, Honour | Anti-corruption Social conservatism | Radostin Vasilev | Did not exist | ||||
| 14 | PP–DB | We Continue the Change | Liberalism Anti-corruption | Nikola Minchev | Did not exist | |||
| Volt Bulgaria | European federalism Pro-Europeanism | 0.18% | 0 / 17 | |||||
| Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria | Conservatism Anti-communism | 6.06% | 1 / 17 | |||||
| Yes, Bulgaria! | Liberalism Anti-corruption | |||||||
| 15 | People's Party "Truth and Only the Truth" | Anti-vaccination Conspiracy theory support | Ventsislav Angelov | Did not exist | ||||
| 16 | Bulgarian Rise | National conservatism | Daniela Vezieva | Did not exist | ||||
| 17 | Citizens Block | Bulgarian Democratic Union-Radicals | Bulgarian nationalism | Ivan Geshev | DNP | |||
| Party of Bulgarian Women | Women's issues | |||||||
| Citizens Block | Anti-corruption Social conservatism | Did not exist | ||||||
| 18 | Society for a New Bulgaria | Social conservatism | Dimitar Tashev | DNP | ||||
| 19 | The Left! | Alternative for Bulgarian Revival | Social democracy Moderate social conservatism | Valeri Zhablyanov | 0.86% | 0 / 17 | ||
| ex-BSP faction | Social democracy | BSP | ||||||
| Movement 21 | Social democracy | 0.21% | 0 / 17 | |||||
| Agrarian Union "Aleksandar Stamboliyski" | Agrarianism | DNP | ||||||
| Green Party of Bulgaria | Green politics | |||||||
| Political Movement "Social Democrats" | Social democracy | |||||||
| National Movement for the Salvation of the Fatherland | Left-wing nationalism | |||||||
| 20 | Party of the Greens | Green politics Left-wing nationalism | Todor Angelov | 0.30% | 0 / 17 | |||
| 21 | We Are Coming | Anti-corruption Liberalism | Nikolay Hadjigenov | Rise | ||||
| 22 | GERB—SDS | GERB | Social conservatism Pro-Europeanism | Rosen Zhelyazkov | 30.13% | 6 / 17 | ||
| SDS | Christian Democracy Anti-communism | |||||||
| George's Day Movement | National conservatism Bulgarian nationalism | |||||||
| 23 | Bulgarian National Union | Ultranationalism Neo-nazism | Boyan Rasate | DNP | ||||
| 24 | BSP for Bulgaria | BSP | Social conservatism Social democracy | Kristian Vigenin | 23.53% | 5 / 17 | ||
| Ecoglasnost | Green politics Environmentalism | |||||||
| Political Club "Trakiya" | Left wing nationalism | |||||||
| 25 | Velichie | Bulgarian nationalism Anti-corruption | Nikolay Markov | Did not exist | ||||
| 26 | VMRO | National conservatism Bulgarian nationalism | Angel Dzhambazki | 7.14% | 2 / 17 | |||
| 27 | Political Party Direct Democracy | Bulgarian nationalism Direct democracy | Petar Klisarov | 0.12% | 0 / 17 | |||
| 28 | Movement for Rights and Freedoms | Turkish minority interests Liberalism | Dzhevdet Chakarov | 16.05% | 3 / 17 | |||
| 29 | Green Movement | Green liberalism Green politics | Borislav Sandov | Democratic Bulgaria | ||||
| 30 | For a Great Bulgaria | Bulgarian nationalism | Valeri Grigorov | Did not exist | ||||
| 31 | Bulgarian Union for Direct Democracy | Direct democracy | Daniel Bozhilov | DNP | ||||
Campaign
PP–DB
PP
On 24 January, after internal discussions, PP announced that their lead candidate for the EP elections would be the former Speaker of the 47th National Assembly and current MP, Nikola Minchev.
On 18 March, the PP Executive Committee approved a shortlist of 15 candidates, including Daniel Lorer, Yavor Bozhankov, Hristo Petrov (known more commonly by his rapper name Itso Hazarta), Nastimir Ananiev, Iskren Mitev, Hristo Daskalov and Denitsa Simeonova, some of which will end up in the common PP–DB list.
Following the Congress, PP confirmed their intention to participate in the upcoming election in a joint list with Democratic Bulgaria and presented a list of nominees for the list, which included the figures previously presented by the Executive Committee as well as MPs Iva Ruycheva and Miroslav Mavrov.
Yes, Bulgaria!
On 19 February, Yes, Bulgaria!, a member of DB, confirmed that the party would nominate candidates for the European Election list through internal elections.
On the 7 April, "Yes, Bulgaria!" officially set the date for their internal elections between the 16 and 18 of April, with a list of nominees for the position similarly being published. The party also confirmed their intention to participate in the EU elections together with PP.
On the 19 April, the party announced that former Bulgarian Ambassador to the United Nations Stefan Tafrov, an MEP candidate in the previous European elections, had won their internal primary.
DSB
The DSB, the other member of DB, is the only constituent party within PP–DB which has an MEP within the outgoing European Parliament, that being Radan Kanev.
On 17 January, Kanev confirmed that he would not be interested in becoming the list leader for a joint PP–DB list, although he did confirm his intention to participate in the upcoming EU elections and stated that he had already been nominated as the lead candidate from DSB.
Revival
Revival announced their list for the European Elections on the 16 of April, with the list being led by current MP Stanislav Stoyanov. Notably, the second position on the list was held by Petar Volgin, a journalist known for his pro-Russian stances.
DPS
DPS announced their list for the European Elections on the 6 May, being led by the co-leader of the party, Dzhevdet Chakarov, and including incumbent BSP MEP, Elena Yoncheva.
BSP
The Bulgarian Socialist Party announced their list for the European Parliamentary Elections on the 27th of April, being headed by current MP, former MEP and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Vigenin. Due to disagreements with party leader Korneliya Ninova, none of the party’s current MEPs, with the exception of Tsvetelina Penkova, ended up in the party’s list.
Other parties and independents
Other parties
On the 16 April, VMRO leader, Krasimir Karakachanov, confirmed the party, which currently has two MEPs in the outgoing European Parliament, intended to contest the upcoming European Elections alone. The VMRO list was to be headed by current MEP, Angel Dzhambazki.
Green Movement, a former member of the PP–DB coalition, similarly announced their intention to participate in the twin European-National elections independently.
Solidary Bulgaria, a new electoral alliance between former Sofia mayoral candidate Vanya Grigorova and IS.BG leader Maya Manolova, will contest the European elections.
Independent candidates
Kuzman Iliev, Bulgarian economist and head of the civic organisation "Bulgaria Can", announced his intention to run as an independent on the 14 April 2024.
Opinion polling
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample | GERB—SDS EPP | BSPzB S&D | DPS Renew | VMRO ECR | PP–DB Renew-EPP | Revival NI | ITN ECR | Blue Bulgaria ECR | Others | NOTA | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Research | 1-4 June 2024 | 1000 | 25 5 | 7.9 2 | 14.1 3 | — | 15.9 3 | 15.7 3 | 5.9 1 | 2.9 0 | 12.6 | — | 9.1 |
| CAM | 1-4 June 2024 | 821 | 26.2 5 | 8.1 2 | 14.1 3 | — | 17.7 4 | 14.8 3 | 5.3 0 | 2.1 0 | — | — | 8.5 |
| Sova Haris | 29 May-3 June 2024 | 1000 | 26.4 6 | 8.9 2 | 14.4 3 | — | 15.4 3 | 15.3 3 | 5.6 0 | — | 14 | — | 11 |
| Market Links | 22 May-2 June 2024 | 1004 | 28.8 6 | 8.7 2 | 12.4 3 | — | 20.2 4 | 11.4 2 | 3.9 0 | 2.2 0 | 7.4 | 2.1 | 8.6 |
| TREND | 11–18 May 2024 | 1003 | 25.9 5 | 8.1 2 | 14.6 3 | 1.2 0 | 16.1 4 | 15.1 3 | 5.5 0 | 1.8 0 | 12.4 | 5.3 | 9.8 |
| Sova Harris | 8–13 May 2024 | 1000 | 28.3 6 | 10.3 2 | 13.3 3 | — | 15.8 3 | 15 3 | 5.2 0 | — | 11.5 | — | 12.5 |
| MarketLinks | 29 April–9 May 2024 | — | 29.4 6 | 9.3 2 | 13.1 3 | — | 20.6 4 | 12.3 2 | 2.7 0 | 1.7 0 | 6.4 | 4.2 | 8.8 |
| Alpha Research | 28 April–5 May 2024 | 1000 | 25.1 5 | 8.0 2 | 14.4 3 | — | 18.5 4 | 14.8 3 | 4.8 0 | 2.4 0 | 12.0 | — | 6.6 |
| Gallup | 22 April–2 May 2024 | 808 | 26.4 5 | 8.2 2 | 14.9 3 | 1.3 0 | 17.5 4 | 14.7 3 | 4.5 0 | 1.4 0 | 11.1 | — | 8.9 |
| TREND | 12–19 April 2024 | 1002 | 27.2 5 | 9.4 2 | 15.4 3 | — | 17.2 4 | 15.3 3 | 5.1 0 | — | 10.1 | — | 10.1 |
| Gallup | 28 March-5 April 2024 | 805 | 28.7 5 | 10.1 2 | 15.3 3 | — | 18.2 4 | 15.1 3 | 5.5 0 | — | 9.8 | — | 6.2 |
| IPSOS | N/A | N/A | 27.1 5 | 8.8 2 | 13.0 2 | — | 20.9 4 | 15.1 3 | 6.1 1 | — | 8.9 | — | 6.2 |
| Alpha Research | 1-7 March 2024 | 1000 | 27.0 5 | 10.6 2 | 10.0 2 | — | 23.8 5 | 15.8 3 | 5.9 0 | — | 6.9 | — | 3.2 |
| Market Links | 24 February-3 March 2024 | 1058 | 26.4 5 | 9.7 2 | 14.0 3 | — | 22.7 4 | 13.5 3 | 3.8 0 | — | 6.1 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| 2019 election | 26 May 2019 | — | 30.4 6 | 23.5 5 | 16.1 3 | 7.1 2 | 5.9 1 | 1.0 0 | — | — | 2.6 | 4.1 | 6.9 |
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GERB–SDS | 474,059 | 23.55 | 5 | –1 | |
| Movement for Rights and Freedoms | 295,092 | 14.66 | 3 | 0 | |
| We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria | 290,865 | 14.45 | 3 | +2 | |
| Revival | 281,434 | 13.98 | 3 | +3 | |
| BSP for Bulgaria | 141,178 | 7.01 | 2 | –3 | |
| There is Such a People | 121,572 | 6.04 | 1 | New | |
| Velichie | 81,955 | 4.07 | – | New | |
| Morality, Unity, Honour | 51,076 | 2.54 | – | New | |
| VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement | 42,022 | 2.09 | – | –2 | |
| Blue Bulgaria | 24,917 | 1.24 | – | New | |
| Solidary Bulgaria | 24,685 | 1.23 | – | New | |
| Center | 20,869 | 1.04 | – | New | |
| Party of the Greens | 17,131 | 0.85 | – | 0 | |
| Independent candidate Kuzman Iliev | 11,057 | 0.55 | – | New | |
| The Left! | 10,230 | 0.51 | – | New | |
| Bulgarian Rise | 9,510 | 0.47 | – | New | |
| Green Movement | 8,347 | 0.41 | – | – | |
| People's Voice | 6,921 | 0.34 | – | – | |
| Direct Democracy | 5,257 | 0.26 | – | – | |
| We Are Coming | 4,999 | 0.25 | – | New | |
| We the Citizens | 4,937 | 0.25 | – | New | |
| Unification | 4,302 | 0.21 | – | New | |
| Bulgarian Voice | 2,821 | 0.14 | – | New | |
| Citizens Bloc | 2,310 | 0.11 | – | New | |
| Coalition of the Rose | 2,294 | 0.11 | – | New | |
| Society for a New Bulgaria | 2,073 | 0.10 | – | New | |
| Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy | 1,956 | 0.10 | – | New | |
| For a Great Bulgaria | 1,770 | 0.09 | – | New | |
| People's Party "Truth and Only the Truth" | 1,733 | 0.09 | – | New | |
| Bulgarian National Unification | 983 | 0.05 | – | – | |
| Bulgarian Union for Direct Democracy | 895 | 0.04 | – | New | |
| None of the above | 63,810 | 3.17 | – | – | |
| Total | 2,013,060 | 100.00 | 17 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 2,013,060 | 97.05 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 61,238 | 2.95 | |||
| Total votes | 2,074,298 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,170,472 | 33.62 | |||
| Source: Central Electoral Commission, European Parliament | |||||
Parliamentary groups
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