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The President, elected for a 5-year term, is head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The President's main duties are to schedule elections and referenda, represent Bulgaria abroad, conclude international treaties, and head the Consultative Council for National Security. The President may return legislation to Parliament for further debate--a kind of veto--but the legislation can be passed again by a simple majority vote. Petar Stoyanov, the candidate of a united opposition coalition led by the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), was nominated to run for President in the country's first primary election in June 1996. Stoyanov was elected in November and inaugurated in January 1997. The legislative body is the unicameral National Assembly of 240 members elected to 4-year terms. Political parties must garner a minimum of 4% of the national vote in order to enter Parliament. Parliament 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 and deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. The BSP won the first post-communist parliamentary elections in 1990 with a small majority. The BSP government formed at that time was brought down by a general strike in late 1990 and replaced by a transitional coalition government. Meanwhile, Zhelyu Zhelev, a communist-era dissident, was elected President by the Parliament in 1990 and later won Bulgaria's first direct presidential elections, in 1992. Zhelev served until early 1997. The country's first fully democratic parliamentary elections, in November 1991, ushered in another coalition government, which was led by the pro-reform Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) in partnership with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). This coalition collapsed in late 1992, however, and was succeeded by a technocratic team, put forward by the MRF, which governed at the sufferance of the BSP for 2 years. The BSP won pre-term elections in December 1994 and remained in office until February 1997, when a populace alienated by the BSP's failed, corrupt government demanded its resignation and called for new elections. A caretaker cabinet appointed by the President served until pre-term parliamentary elections in April 1997, which yielded a landslide victory for pro-reform forces led by the UDF in the United Democratic Forces coalition. Along with the UDF, there are five other parties represented in Parliament. The Council of Ministers is the principal organ of the executive branch. It is usually formed by the majority party in Parliament, if one exists, or by the largest party in Parliament along with coalition partners. Chaired by the Prime Minister, it is responsible for carrying out state policy, managing the state budget, and maintaining law and order. The Council must resign if the National Assembly passes a vote of no confidence in the Council or the Prime Minister. Bulgaria's judicial system is independent and is managed by the Supreme Judicial Council. Its principal elements are the Supreme Court of Administration and the Supreme Court of Cassation, which oversee application of all laws by the lower courts and judge the legality of government acts. There is a separate Constitutional Court, which interprets the Constitution and rules on the constitutionality of laws and treaties. Six out of the 34 political parties and coalitions that fielded candidates in the last election are represented in Parliament. The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) recaptured Parliament in April 1997 with 123 seats out of 240. Its electoral coalition partner, the People's Union, carried 14 seats. Also in that election, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) dropped from its 1994 majority of 125 seats to 58. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) formed the Alliance for National Salvation with several smaller parties, taking 19 seats. The two other parties are the Euroleft (comprised largely of defectors from the BSP with a social-democratic orientation), which holds 14 seats and the populist Bulgarian Business Bloc which holds 12. The next parliamentary elections must take place no later than April 2001. Principal Government Officials President--Petar Stoyanov Vice President--Todor Kavaldjiev Prime Minister--Ivan Kostov Ambassador to the United States--Snezhana Botusharova Ambassador to the United Nations--Filip Dimitrov The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the United States is located at 1621 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel. 202-387-7969; fax. 202-123-7973. |
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