In Sofia on March 13, sixteen Bulgarian lawmakers were stripped of their seats by the Constitutional Court due to being incorrectly elected during a partial recount.
The court's investigation was prompted by a complaint lodged by the nationalist Velichie Party, which narrowly missed the 4% threshold required to enter parliament initially. Following the recount, Velichie was granted 10 seats, as announced in a publicized session of the election commission. The remaining six seats were distributed among four smaller parties.
Despite losing five seats, the delicate governing coalition led by the center-right GERB Party managed to maintain a fragile majority, holding onto 121 seats in the 240-seat parliament.
While the Constitutional Court dismissed requests for a complete recount in a statement released on Thursday, the uncertainties surrounding Bulgaria's unsettled political environment were further heightened by the partial recount conducted at numerous polling stations. The country has been plagued by party fragmentation, hindering the formation of stable coalitions and secure governance for years.
The October election, which saw GERB secure approximately 26% of the vote, marked Bulgaria's seventh election in four years. Notably, it was in January that Bulgaria's parliament, under the leadership of Rosen Zhelyazkov, a former parliament speaker, concluded lengthy coalition talks.
With its deteriorating infrastructure and delayed progress towards euro adoption resulting from unmet inflation targets, Bulgaria urgently requires a phase of steadfast and effective governance to expedite the absorption of European Union funds. The scheduled date for entry into the eurozone has already been postponed to January 1, 2026.