In Bulgaria, a partial recount of votes from the October elections has led to the loss of mandates for 16 deputies, while the euroskeptic “Velichie” party has secured a place in parliament.
The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria ruled that the election of 16 deputies to parliament was unlawful following the partial recount of votes from the October elections. The court reviewed the election results based on a complaint from the “Velichie” party, which had fallen short of the 4% threshold required to enter parliament by just a few votes.
After the recount, the “Velichie” party, which opposes aid to Ukraine, gained 10 seats. The remaining six seats were redistributed among four smaller parties.
Despite the loss of five seats, the fragile ruling coalition led by the center-right GERB party managed to retain a slim majority—121 seats in the 240-seat parliament.
In its statement on Thursday, the Constitutional Court rejected calls for a full recount. However, the partial vote recount at hundreds of polling stations has added further uncertainty to Bulgaria’s already unstable political landscape, where fragmented parties have struggled for years to secure a majority or form stable coalitions.
The October elections, in which the GERB party won approximately 26% of the vote, marked Bulgaria’s seventh election in four years. However, it was only in January that Bulgaria’s parliament approved a cabinet led by Rosen Zhelyazkov, the former speaker of parliament, finally ending months of coalition negotiations.
