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EACEA National Policies Platform
Bulgaria

Bulgaria

5. Participation

5.1 General context

Last update: 28 November 2023
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  1. Main concepts
  2. Institutions of representative democracy

Main concepts

The youth representation in the country is determined by the of the National Youth Strategy In Bulgaria the implementation and monitoring of the interests of young people in the formation, fulfillment and evaluation of the public policies may be structured via youth councils. Youth organizations support the development and interests of young people in different fields: education, culture, sports, ecology, healthcare, labor and social policy, informal training, leisure time and development of the local communities, through: ¾ participation in the formation, implementation and evaluation of youth policy, intercession campaigns; the international youth communication; collaboration with municipal and government bodies and administration. Upon ensuring representation, publicity and reporting as regards the activity of youth councils.

Institutions of representative democracy

Bulgaria is a uniform parliamentary republic with local self-government and with distinct distribution of powers: legislative, executive, and judicial. The country is ruled by virtue of the supreme law – the Constitution adopted in 1991, and the laws of the country, and political life is based on the principle of political pluralism. The voting is not compulsory.

Government institutions representing democracy

  • Президент на Република България President of the Republic
  • Народно събрание National Assembly
  • Министерски съвет Council of Ministers  

Judicial power:

President

The President is the head of the State who embodies the unity of the nation and represents the Republic of Bulgaria in the international relations. The presidential activity is supported by the Vice President. The President is elected directly by the nation for a term of 5 years with the right to one reelection.The President is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Chairman of the Consultative Council on National Security.

Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria (CC) was established in 1991 by the Constitution of Bulgaria. The Court gives interpretations of the Constitution, rules anticonstitutional cases, resolves disputes connected with the competence of authorities, etc.

Executive Power

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is the main body of the executive power of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is composed of a Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and members – resource ministers, minister for different sectors.

The Council of Ministers heads and implements the domestic and foreign policy of the country, ensures the public order and national security, manages the state administration via the ministries, agencies and commissions established by it.

Legislative Power

National Assembly of Bulgaria

The Bulgarian single-chamber Parliament called National Assembly implements the legislative power in the country and exercises parliamentary control. The National Assembly consists of 240 Members of Parliament elected for a term of 4 years. The vote is for lists of candidates from parties or coalitions for each of the 31st multi-mandate election regions. Only political parties with at least 4% of the votes can be presented in the National Assembly.. The National Assembly is responsible for the passing of laws, approval of the government budget, the establishment of taxes and their amount, the setting of presidential elections, the election and recall of the Prime Minister and the other members of the Council of Ministers, declaration of war, disposition of troops outside Bulgaria, and the ratification of international treaties and agreements.

Judicial System

The judicial power protects the rights and legal interests of citizens and of the State. The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of Bulgaria consists of 25 members elected for a term of 5 years and forming a plenum, through which they exercise their powers. Their sessions are chaired by the Minister of Justice.

The justice in Bulgaria is put into practice by the following:

  • Supreme Court of Cassation
  • Supreme Administrative Court
  • Regional courts
  • District courts
  • Appellate courts
  • Military courts – military-district and military-appellate courts
  • specialized courts

According to the Constitution the judicial power also includes the Prosecutor’s Office and the National Investigation Office.

Local self-government and administration

Administrative division of Bulgaria

In order to have efficient management of the country, the State makes administrative and territorial division by determining the borders of the so-called administrative and territorial units. From a historical point of view, this division has undergone multiple changes.

Bulgaria has a two-level administrative division – municipalities and regions.

Since 1999 the Republic of Bulgaria has been divided into 28 regions from an administrative point of view. As at 2019 Bulgaria has 265 municipalities.

A municipal council is a body of the local self-government within the Municipality, as it is elected by the population of the respective municipality for a term of 4 years. The regional government is implemented by a regional governor supported by regional administration.