National Assembly (Bulgaria)

The National Assembly (Народно събрание) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The first National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution.

National Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
Structure
Seats	240
Political groups	GERB–SDS (69)   PP–DB (37)   Revival (35)   DPS–NN (30)   BSP–OL (20)   APS (19)   ITN (18)   MECh (12)
Elections
Voting system	Proportional representation
Last election	27 October 2024
Next election	By 2028
Meeting place
Party House, Sofia
Website
parliament.bg/en

During the communist period between 1946 and 1989, the National Assembly was the supreme organ of state power and the only branch of government in Bulgaria and, in accordance with the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. Most of the National Assembly's actions were characterized as a rubber stamp for the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP) or as only being able to affect issues of low sensitivity and salience to the Bulgarian communist regime. The BCP controlled nomination and election processes at every level in its political system, allowing it to stamp out any opposition.

Ordinary National Assembly

The National Assembly consists of 240 members elected for a four-year term, elected by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies. Political parties must garner a minimum of 4% of the national vote in order to enter the Assembly. Bulgaria has a multi-party system.

The Assembly is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers, declaration of war, concluding peace and deployment of troops outside Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. It is headed and presided by the Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria.

The Assembly administers the publication of the State Gazette, Bulgaria's gazette of record.

Procedure

By the Constitution, the National Assembly is inaugurated by the eldest elected member of Parliament. On the first day of sitting, they preside over the election of the Speaker (Chairperson) and two deputies.

Once elected, the Speakers retain their party allegiances, which means that they remain as MPs and are allowed to take part in debates and voting.

121 MPs must be present in order for any session to commence, and 50%+1 of those present must vote "for" any point of order or bill to be approved.

Ministers may be chosen from among the MPs or they may be experts outside Parliament. All MPs picked to be Cabinet ministers lose their MP status, and other members from their party are called up to Parliament to fill the seats they vacate.

Parliament sits Wednesday to Friday, and sessions begin at 9 am. Parliamentary committees sit in the afternoons.

Layout

Old Parliament House

In 2020-2021, the old Parliament House was only used for special occasions, such as the opening and closing of the legislative session or the inauguration of a new president. Following the April 2021 parliamentary elections, the legislature returned to the old parliament building.

The Chamber is made up of 286 seats, all facing the 5-seat speaker's bench in a 26 x 11 arrangement. In front of the Speaker, also facing the chamber, is the pulpit, in front of which is the stenographers' desk.

Parties sit in parliamentary groups, loosely following the rule that the political left sits to the Speaker's left and the political right to his right. Generally, the largest parties choose the chamber's left, right or centre wings, with smaller blocks accommodating themselves wherever convenient. Individual MPs will sometimes sit entirely outside their block or stand, and, since compulsory electronic registration was implemented, may even vote from any seat in the house.

To the speaker's right, also facing the chamber, is a section with 17 seats reserved for the Cabinet, any of whom may or may not be present at any time during a parliamentary session. Any of them may, however, be called up by Parliament at any time if needed.

Largo Parliament House

Located in the former Bulgarian Communist Party headquarters building in the Largo, The Chamber is made up of 270 seats arranged in a hemicycle of twelve rows, all facing the 7-seat speaker's bench. In front of the Speaker, also facing the chamber, is the pulpit containing a stenographer's desk at the center and two sections reserved for the Cabinet, each with 13 seats, at the sides.

The new plenary hall, which is located under a glass roof, is larger than the old one and can be easily remodeled to fit the 400-member Grand National Assembly. It was used briefly in 2020-2021 during the end of GERB's third government. Following the April 2021 parliamentary elections, the legislature returned to the old parliament building.

Grand National Assembly

Main article: Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria

The building of the first National Assembly of Bulgaria in Veliko Tarnovo

In addition to the ordinary National Assembly, a Grand National Assembly (Велико народно събрание, Veliko narodno sabranie) may be convened for matters of special jurisdiction, such as: 1) Adoption of a new Constitution; 2) Amendment of certain articles of the Constitution, e.g. those related with the basic civil rights; 3) Changes in the territory (gain or loss) of the Republic, etc. Before the World War II the Grand National Assembly was also competent in electing the Regency of the Bulgarian Kingdom if the tzar had not come to age. The First and the Third Grand National Assemblies also elected the first two Bulgarian monarchs after the liberation from Ottoman rule – Prince (Knjaz) Alexander Battenberg and Prince (Knjaz) Ferdinand Saxe Coburg-Gotha.

As an organ, the Grand National Assembly was introduced with the Tarnovo Constitution of 1879, abolished in 1947 and reintroduced with the 1991 constitution. In different constitutional provisions, it was constituted by a different number of representatives. According to the 1991 Constitution, it consists of 400 deputies (as opposed to 240 in the ordinary one). The 1991 Constitution was adopted by the Seventh Grand National Assembly and was composed of 200 members being elected by proportional representation and the other 200 under a first-past-the-post voting system. The Constitution provides that the elections for Grand National Assembly shall be conducted in the same manner as those for the Ordinary National Assembly.

A qualified majority of 2/3 during three voting procedures on separate dates is required for a decision to be made. The Grand National Assembly can also serve as an ordinary National Assembly, taking care of regular legislative activities in urgent cases only. After it has concluded its work on the matter for which it was elected, the Grand National Assembly is dissolved ex lege and the President of the Republic shall appoint elections for an ordinary National Assembly.

A total of seven Grand National Assemblies have been in operation in Bulgaria, the last one from 10 July 1990 to 12 July 1991 adopting the current constitution.

Building

Main article: Bulgaria National Assembly Building

View from Tsar Osvoboditel

The National Assembly's main building has been proclaimed a monument of culture for its historic significance. Situated in downtown Sofia, it was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by Konstantin Jovanović.

Office house of the National Assembly (former House of the BCP) used as National Assembly building from 2020 to 2021 and from 2023

Due to insufficient space in the main building at Parliament Square, the National Assembly is now housed by the former headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party, located at the Largo - the so-called Party House. Initially, only administrative offices have been relocated, but proposals to convert the into an interior space for the plenary chamber have been made since 1996, with the relocation taking place in 2020. After the April 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election, the National Assembly moved again to the old Parliament House because ITN, Democratic Bulgaria, ISMV, and DPS viewed the Party House building as a symbol of Bulgaria's communist past.

List of National Assemblies

Parliament	Term	Seats
Constituent National Assembly	10 February 1879 – 16 April 1879	231
1st Grand National Assembly	17 April 1879 – 26 June 1879	231
1st Ordinary National Assembly	21 October 1879 – 24 November 1879	158
2nd Ordinary National Assembly	23 March 1880 – 18 December 1880	172
2nd Grand National Assembly	7 January 1881	307
3rd Ordinary National Assembly	10 December 1882 – 25 December 1883	47
4th Ordinary National Assembly	27 June 1884 – 6 September 1886	195/286
3rd Grand National Assembly	19 October 1886 – 3 August 1887	493
5th Ordinary National Assembly	15 October 1887 – 17 December 1889	285
6th Ordinary National Assembly	15 October 1890 – 15 December 1892	276
4th Grand National Assembly	3 May 1893 – 17 May 1893	577
7th Ordinary National Assembly	15 October 1893 – 21 December 1893	145
8th Ordinary National Assembly	15 October 1894 – 4 February 1896	149
9th Ordinary National Assembly	1 December 1896 – 19 December 1898	159
10th Ordinary National Assembly	16 May 1899 – 29 November 1900	169
11th Ordinary National Assembly	22 February 1901 – 23 December 1901	166
12th Ordinary National Assembly	22 April 1902 – 31 March 1903	188
13th Ordinary National Assembly	2 November 1903 – 22 December 1907	189
14th Ordinary National Assembly	15 June 1908 – 15 February 1911	203
5th Grand National Assembly	9 June 1911 – 9 July 1911	414
15th Ordinary National Assembly	15 October 1911 – 23 July 1913	213
16th Ordinary National Assembly	19 December 1913 – 31 December 1913	204
17th Ordinary National Assembly	20 March 1914 – 15 April 1919	257
18th Ordinary National Assembly	2 October 1919 – 20 February 1920	237
19th Ordinary National Assembly	15 April 1920 – 11 March 1923	232
20th Ordinary National Assembly	21 May 1923 – 11 June 1923	245
21st Ordinary National Assembly	9 December 1923 – 15 April 1927	267
22nd Ordinary National Assembly	19 June 1927 – 18 April 1931	275
23rd Ordinary National Assembly	20 August 1931 – 19 May 1934	283
24th Ordinary National Assembly	22 May 1938 – 27 April 1939	160
25th Ordinary National Assembly	24 February 1940 – 23 August 1944	160
26th Ordinary National Assembly	15 December 1945 – 28 September 1946	276
6th Grand National Assembly	7 November 1946 – 21 October 1949	465(375)
1st National Assembly	17 January 1950 – 2 November 1953	239
2nd National Assembly	14 January 1954 – 11 December 1957	249
3rd National Assembly	13 January 1958 – 4 November 1961	254
4th National Assembly	15 March 1962 – 8 December 1965	321
5th National Assembly	11 March 1966 – 18 May 1971	416
6th National Assembly	7 July 1971 – 9 March 1976	400
7th National Assembly	15 June 1976 – 7 April 1981	400
8th National Assembly	16 June 1981 – 21 March 1986	400
9th National Assembly	17 June 1986 – 3 April 1990	400
7th Grand National Assembly	10 July 1990 – 2 October 1991	400
36th National Assembly	4 November 1991 – 17 October 1994	240
37th National Assembly	12 January 1995 – 13 February 1997	240
38th National Assembly	7 May 1997 – 19 April 2001	240
39th National Assembly	5 July 2001 – 17 June 2005	240
40th National Assembly	11 July 2005 – 25 June 2009	240
41st National Assembly	14 July 2009 – 13 March 2013	240
42nd National Assembly	21 May 2013 – 6 August 2014	240
43rd National Assembly	27 October 2014 – 27 January 2017	240
44th National Assembly	19 April 2017 – 26 March 2021	240
45th National Assembly	15 April 2021 – 12 May 2021	240
46th National Assembly	21 July 2021 – 16 September 2021	240
47th National Assembly	3 December 2021 – 2 August 2022	240
48th National Assembly	19 October 2022 – 3 February 2023	240
49th National Assembly	12 April 2023 – 19 June 2024	240
50th National Assembly	19 June 2024 –	240
51st National Assembly		240

Historical composition of the National Assembly

1990-2005

BSP   DPS   NDSV   BZNS   SDS   DSB   BBB   Ataka   Others		Total seats
1990	211 23 16 144	400
1991	106 24 110	240
1995	125 15 18 69 13	240
1997	58 19 137 12 14	240
2001	48 21 120 51	240
2005	82 34 53 20 17 21 13	240

2009-2017

BSP   DPS   Blue Coalition/Reformist Bloc   GERB   PF   Ataka   Others		Total seats
2009	40 38 15 116 21 10	240
2013	84 36 97 23	240
2014	39 38 23 84 19 11 26	240
2017	80 26 95 27 12	240

Since 2021

IBG   BSP   DPS   APS   PP   PP-DB   DB   GERB–SDS   ITN   Revival   Others		Total seats
April 2021	14 43 30 27 75 51	240
July 2021	13 36 29 34 63 65	240
November 2021	26 34 67 16 59 25 13	240
2022	25 36 53 20 67 27 12	240
2023	23 36 64 69 11 37	240
June 2024	19 47 39 68 16 38 13	240
October 2024	20 30 19 37 69 18 35 12	240

See also

• Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria
• Politics of Bulgaria
• List of legislatures by country

External links

• Народно събрание на Република България/ National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, official website
• Bulgaria The National Assembly
• Historical photographs of the National Assembly