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Democratic Bulgaria Демократична България
Abbreviation	DB
Leaders	Hristo Ivanov Atanas Atanasov
Founded	12 April 2018; 6 years ago (2018-04-12)
Preceded by	Reformist Bloc
Ideology	Liberal conservatism [1] Conservative liberalism [2] Liberalism [3] [4] Anti-corruption [4] Pro-Europeanism [5]
Political position	Centre-right [6] [7]
National affiliation	PP–DB
European affiliation	European People's Party [a]
Colours	Blue   White   Green   Red
Website
demokrati.bg
Politics of Bulgaria Political parties Elections

Democratic Bulgaria ( Bulgarian: Демократична България, ДБ, Demokratichna Balgariya, DB) is an electoral alliance in Bulgaria initially formed by three political parties – Yes, Bulgaria!, Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria and the Green Movement on 12 April 2018. ^[8] In February 2023 the coalition merged into PP-DB. ^[9] However, on 15 April 2024, the Green Movement announced that it would no longer be a part of the alliance, leaving DaB and DSB as the two parties remaining. ^[10]

History

The creation of Democratic Bulgaria was officially announced through the symbolic signing of a declaration entitled "A Democratic Bulgaria Can Do More". The three parties united after several months of talks on cooperation during the next general election. ^{[11] [12]} In its manifesto, the union set out its main goals, including to be an alternative to the current government and to consolidate Bulgaria's democratic values and Euro-Atlantic choices. ^[13]

Structure

The Democratic Bulgaria structure has two co-leaders – Hristo Ivanov of Yes, Bulgaria! and Atanas Atanasov of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria. The leaders of The Greens – Vladislav Panev and Borislav Sandov – also participate in the union's council. ^[14]

At the Congress of Yes, Bulgaria!, Hristo Ivanov proposed the formation of a joint board between the three DB member parties in order to coordinate decision making between the three parties, with PP similarly invited. ^[15]

Composition

Political positions

Finance

Some of DB's priorities are Bulgaria's Eurozone and Banking union membership, a reduction of budget spending to 1/3 of the GDP, as well as taxation reform, with a reduction of VAT from 20% to 18% and a non-taxable minimum of the income tax. ^[16]

Defense

In the sphere of defense, the party seeks public support of the Armed Forces using the Social contract of defensive politics. ^[17]

Presidential endorsement

For the 2021 Bulgarian presidential election, DB supported the election bid of Lozan Panov, the chairman of the Bulgarian supreme court. ^[18]

Election results

2019 European Parliament election

In order to select its candidates, Yes, Bulgaria! conducted a remote preliminary election. Those willing to vote could do it digitally using the mobile app of Yes, Bulgaria! or by mail. ^[19] All members of Yes, Bulgaria! had the right to participate, together with everyone who received an invitation from a current party member. ^[19] The electoral process began on 27 November 2018, and the final results were declared on 11 February 2019. A total of 5898 people voted, and the candidate with the most votes was Stefan Tafrov, a diplomat and former ambassador. ^[20]

The candidate of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria for the European elections Svetoslav Malinov was selected through a resolution during the party's National Congress on 12 November 2018. ^[21] Malinov has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009 as a member of the European People's Party. ^[21]

On February 22, 2019, The Greens announced their primary candidate for the elections – Albena Simeonova – an environmentalist and entrepreneur in the sphere of bio agriculture. She was elected through an online vote on the website of the party. ^[22]

Democratic Bulgaria eventually won one seat in the 2019 European Parliament election, which went to DSB member Radan Kanev. ^{[23] [24]}

2019 local elections

Local elections were held across Bulgaria on 27 October 2019, with Democratic Bulgaria failing to win a single mayoral contest, but far exceeding expectations in the capital Sofia, where they won 8 out of 25 districts, including most of the city center. ^[25] The results were seen as a serious setback for the ruling party GERB, which had until then maintained a strong hold on the capital, winning 23 out of 25 districts in 2015. ^[26]

Electoral history

National Assembly

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
Apr 2021	302,280	9.45 (#5)	27 / 240	New	Snap election
Jul 2021	345,331	12.64 (#4)	34 / 240	7	Snap election
Nov 2021	166,966	6.37 (#6)	16 / 240	18	Coalition
2022	186,511	7.45 (#6)	20 / 240	4	Snap election

European Parliament

References