National Assembly (Bulgaria)

The National Assembly (Bulgarian: Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria.

National Assembly

Народно събрание

Narodnо səbranie
Type
Type
Leadership
Emil Hristov (GERB)
Kristiyan Vigenin (BSP)
Valeri Simeonov (NFSB)
Nigyar Dzhafer (DPS)
Veselin Mareshki (Volya)
Structure
Seats240
Political groups
Government (116)
  •   GERB (95)
  •   VMRO-BNM (12)
  •   NFSB (9)

Confidence and supply (12)

Opposition (95)

Independents (17)

Elections
Last election
26 March 2017
Next election
28 March 2021
Meeting place
National Assembly, Largo, Sofia[3]
Website
parliament.bg
Republic of Bulgaria
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The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution.

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, he or she presides over the election of the Speaker (Chairperson) and two deputies.[4]

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.

Old Parliament House

Since 2020, The old Parliament House is only used for special occasions, such as the opening and closing of the legislative session or the inauguration of a new President.[3]

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 sit to the Speaker's left and the political right to his right. Generally, the largest parties choose the left, right or centre wings of the chamber, 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.[5]

Largo Parliament House

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 stenographers' 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.[3]

Grand National Assembly
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 sybranie) may be convened in order 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
Another 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 Neo-Renaissance style by Konstantin Jovanović.

Office house of the National Assembly (Former House of the BCP)

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. 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.[6][3]

List of National Assemblies
Parliament Term Seats
Constituent National Assembly10 February 1879 – 16 April 1879231
1 Grand National Assembly17 April 1879 – 26 June 1879231
1 Ordinary National Assembly21 October 1879 – 24 November 1879158
2 Ordinary National Assembly23 March 1880 – 18 December 1880172
2 Grand National Assembly7 January 1881307
3 Ordinary National Assembly10 December 1882 – 25 December 188347
4 Ordinary National Assembly27 June 1884 – 6 September 1886195/286
3 Grand National Assembly19 October 1886 – 3 August 1887493
5 Ordinary National Assembly15 October 1887 – 17 December 1889285
6 Ordinary National Assembly15 October 1890 – 15 December 1892276
4 Grand National Assembly3 May 1893 – 17 May 1893577
7 Ordinary National Assembly15 October 1893 – 21 December 1893145
8 Ordinary National Assembly15 October 1894 – 4 February 1896149
9 Ordinary National Assembly1 December 1896 – 19 December 1898159
10 Ordinary National Assembly16 May 1899 – 29 November 1900169
11 Ordinary National Assembly22 February 1901 – 23 December 1901166
12 Ordinary National Assembly22 April 1902 – 31 March 1903188
13 Ordinary National Assembly2 November 1903 – 22 December 1907189
14 Ordinary National Assembly15 June 1908 – 15 February 1911203
5 Grand National Assembly9 June 1911 – 9 July 1911414
15 Ordinary National Assembly15 October 1911 – 23 July 1913213
16 Ordinary National Assembly19 December 1913 – 31 December 1913204
17 Ordinary National Assembly20 March 1914 – 15 April 1919257
18 Ordinary National Assembly2 October 1919 – 20 February 1920237
19 Ordinary National Assembly15 April 1920 – 11 March 1923232
20 Ordinary National Assembly21 May 1923 – 11 June 1923245
21 Ordinary National Assembly9 December 1923 – 15 April 1927267
22 Ordinary National Assembly19 June 1927 – 18 April 1931275
23 Ordinary National Assembly20 August 1931 – 19 May 1934283
24 Ordinary National Assembly22 May 1938 – 27 April 1939160
25 Ordinary National Assembly24 February 1940 – 23 August 1944160
26 Ordinary National Assembly15 December 1945 – 28 September 1946276
6 Grand National Assembly7 November 1946 – 21 October 1949465(375)
1 National Assembly17 January 1950 – 2 November 1953239
2 National Assembly14 January 1954 – 11 December 1957249
3 National Assembly13 January 1958 – 4 November 1961254
4 National Assembly15 March 1962 – 8 December 1965321
5 National Assembly11 March 1966 – 18 May 1971416
6 National Assembly7 July 1971 – 9 March 1976400
7 National Assembly15 June 1976 – 7 April 1981400
8 National Assembly16 June 1981 – 21 March 1986400
9 National Assembly17 June 1986 – 3 April 1990400
7 Grand National Assembly10 July 1990 – 2 October 1991400
36 National Assembly4 November 1991 – 17 October 1994240
37 National Assembly12 January 1995 – 13 February 1997240
38 National Assembly7 May 1997 – 19 April 2001240
39 National Assembly5 July 2001 – 17 June 2005240
40 National Assembly11 July 2005 – 25 June 2009240
41 National Assembly14 July 2009 – 13 March 2013240
42 National Assembly21 May 2013 – 6 August 2014240
43 National Assembly27 October 2014 – 27 January 2017240
44 National Assembly19 April 2017 – present240

See also

Notes
  3. "Bulgarian Parliament in a New Building - the Renovated Former Party House". novinite.com. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  4. Inaugural Session, 42nd National Assembly, 21 May 2013, parliament.bg. Retrieved Oct 2013
  5. Raykov Cabinet (88th Government) sitting in Parliament Archived 9 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine (article ), 22 May 2013 Retrieved Oct 2013.
  6. Competition for new Plenary Hall Archived 17 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, NI Consult, 2009. Retrieved Oct 2013.
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