site.btaCentral Election Commission Revises 4% Threshold for Entry in 51st National Assembly; Velichie Are In

By a decision adopted on Thursday, Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CEC) set the 4% threshold for entry into the 51st National Assembly at 97,390 valid votes (down from 97,458 before the review of the results). 

Since it gained 97,497 votes (59 more than before the review), the Velichie [Grandeur] party qualifies for the allocation of legislative seats.

CEC voted to reallocate the parliamentary seats as follows:

GERB-UDF: 66 seats (down from 69 allocated in October 2024)

Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB): 36 seats (down from 37)

Vazrazhdane: 33 seats (down from 35)

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF)-New Beginning: 29 seats (down from 30)

Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS): 19 seats (unchanged)

BSP – United Left: 19 seats (down from 20)

There Is Such a People (TISP): 17 seats (down from 18)

Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh): 11 seats (down from 12)

Velichie [Grandeur]: 10 seats (none before).

Twelve CEC members voted in favour of the decision to revise the seat allocation in the 51st National Assembly, and two members voted against.

CEC declared the following individuals have been elected as MPs:

- 2nd Multi-member Constituency (Burgas, on the Black Sea): Lyubisha Blazhevski from Velichie

- 3rd Multi-member Constituency (Varna, on the Black Sea): Yuliana Mateeva from Velichie

- 3rd Multi-member Constituency (Varna, on the Black Sea): Ivaylo Kostadinov from There Is Such a People (TISP)

- 4th Multi-member Constituency (Veliko Tarnovo, Central Bulgaria): Pavlin Petrov from Velichie

- 6th Multi-member Constituency (Vratsa, Northeastern Bulgaria): Ivan Klisurski from TISP

- 9th Multi-member Constituency (Kardzhali, Southeastern Bulgaria): Kostadin Hadzhiyski from Velichie

- 11th Multi-member Constituency (Lovech, North-central Bulgaria): Ilian Iliev from Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh)

- 12th Multi-member Constituency (Montana, Northwestern Bulgaria): Samuil Slavov from MECh

- 16th Multi-member Constituency (Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria): Mariya Ilieva from Velichie

- 22nd Multi-member Constituency (Smolyan, Southern Bulgaria): Larisa Savova from Velichie

- 23rd Multi-member Constituency (Sofia): Stiliyana Bobcheva from Velichie

- 25th Multi-member Constituency (Sofia): Ivelin Mihaylov from Velichie

- 25th Multi-member Constituency (Sofia): Yavor Haytov from Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (APS)

- 27th Multi-member Constituency (Stara Zagora, Southern Bulgaria): Krasimira Katincharova from Velichie

- 28th Multi-member Constituency (Targovishte, Northeastern Bulgaria): Ivaylo Lazarov from Velichie

- 31st Multi-member Constituency (Yambol, Southeastern Bulgaria): Seyfi Sabri Mehmedali from MRF-New Beginning

CEC also annulled the mandates of the following MPs:

- Esheref Kyazim Esheref from the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) (Parliamentary Group of Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - MRF)

- Svetoslav Todorov from Vazrazhdane

- Ivaylo Mitkovski from CC-DB

- Deyan Petkov from MECh

- Andrey Valchev from BSP - United Left

- Rosen Ivanov from MECh

- Pavlin Yotov from GERB-UDF

- Emil Trifonov from TISP

- Stanislav Anastassov from MRF-New Beginning

- Borislav Petkov from MECh

- Aleksandar Nenkov from GERB-UDF

- Ivan Kyuchukov from TISP

- Viktor Papazov from Vazrazhdane

- Metin Kachan from MRF-New Beginning

- Temenuzhka Petkova from GERB-UDF

- Nikola Dzhambazov from GERB-UDF (elected as an MP in place of Temenuzhka Petkova, who became Finance Minister)

- Aleksandar Markov from TISP

Earlier on Thursday, the Constitutional Court outlawed the election of 16 MPs and determined that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning, GERB-UDF, Vazrazhdane and BSP-United Left have lost between 1,110 and 42 votes each, while MECh, TISP, CC-DB and the ARF have gained between 28 and 1 votes each.