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2024 European Parliament election in Bulgaria

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 parliamentary election the same day.

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.

MEPs not standing for re-election

Running parties

Contesting parties and coalitions

Below is the official list of parties and coalitions that registered lists for the European Parliamentary elections.

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 Palriament, 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.