Parliamentary Elections in Bulgaria

Experts analyse the situation in Bulgaria

After early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria in April 2023, a government was formed between GERB-SDS and PP-DB. They agreed on a system of rotating prime ministers – but this very rotation ultimately led to the downfall of the government. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, attempts to form a new government under Foreign Minister Marija Gabriel, who was to become the next Prime Minister, failed. As a result, Bulgarian citizens will head to the polls again on 9 June, marking the sixth election in only three years. They will cast their votes twice – once for the EU election and once for the national election.

What will be the outcome of these elections, and will it be possible to form a coalition given the deadlocked party situation? What implications do these unstable governments have for the future of Bulgaria? And how strong are Russia’s influence and disinformation campaigns in this situation? 

In cooperation with the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) and the Politische Akademie of the ÖVP, the Karl-Renner-Institut invites you to a panel discussion with international experts. 

The pre-election briefing authored by Sophia Beiter is already available.

Welcome Address

Sebastian Schäffer
Director of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe

Briefing on the current situation in Bulgaria

Sophia Beiter
Research Associate, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) 

Panel Discussion

Tihomir Bezlov
Senior Analyst, Center for the Study of Democracy, Sofia

Thorsten Geissler
Director for Regional Cooperation, Atlantic Club of Bulgaria

Vladislava Gubalova
Senior Fellow, Globsec, Bratislava

Moderation

Sophia Beiter
Research Associate, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) 

Anmeldung

Zoom Webinar/YouTube livestream, please register on IDM

Die Diskussion in englischer Sprache findet in Kooperation mit dem Institut für den Donauraum und Mitteleuropa (IDM) und der Politischen Akademie der ÖVP statt.