Bulgarian parliamentary election, 1997

Bulgarian parliamentary election, 1997

April 19, 1997
240 seats to the National Assembly
Turnout	62.9%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ivan Kostov Georgi Parvanov Ahmed Dogan Party ODS BSP DPS Last election 69 seats 125 seats 15 seats Seats won 137 58 19 Seat change +68 −67 +4 Popular vote 2,223,714 939,308 323,429 Percentage 52.3% 22.1% 7.6%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader George Ganchev Party BEL BBB Last election no seats 13 seats Seats won 14 12 Seat change N/A -1 Popular vote 234,058 209,796 Percentage 5.5% 4.9%
PM before election Stefan Sofiyanski Independent Elected PM Ivan Kostov SDS

Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 19 April 1997. The result was a victory for the United Democratic Forces (an alliance of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), the Democratic Party, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-Nikola Petkov and the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party), which won 137 of the 240 seats. Voter turnout was 62.9%. Following the election, SDS leader Ivan Kostov became Prime Minister.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
United Democratic Forces	2,223,714	52.3	137	+68
Democratic Left	939,308	22.1	58	−67
Union for National Salvation¹	323,429	7.6	19	+4
Bulgarian Euro-Left	234,058	5.5	14	New
Bulgarian Business Bloc	209,796	4.9	12	−1
Communist Party of Bulgaria	50,864	1.2	0	0
Alliance for the King	46,765	1.1	0	New
Bulgarian Christian Coalition	26,614	0.6	0	New
Democratic Party of Justice	20,433	0.5	0	0
Party of Bulgarian Women	16,061	0.4	0	New
Liberal Forum	13,638	0.3	0	New
Crowned Democracy	11,747	0.3	0	0
Bulgarian Workers' Socialist Party	10,152	0.2	0	New
Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-Centre	10,062	0.2	0	New
Democratic Alternative for the Republic	9,664	0.2	0	0
Bulgarian Party of Liberals	7,281	0.2	0	New
Bulgarian National-Radical Party	7,099	0.2	0	0
Bulgarian National Democratic Party	6,875	0.2	0	New
Popular Patriotic Left Front	6,795	0.2	0	New
Bulgarian Workers'-Agrarian Party	6,754	0.2	0	0
Union for Democratic Development	6,377	0.2	0	New
Christian Democratic Union	5,912	0.2	0	0
Forward Bulgaria' Coalition	5,886	0.1	0	0
Free Cooperative Party	5,534	0.1	0	0
Democratic League	4,386	0.1	0	New
New Democracy	3,720	0.1	0	New
Transfiguration Forum	3,654	0.1	0	0
Bulgarian Democratic Party for European and World States	3,614	0.1	0	0
Bulgarian National Ecological Party - Veliko Turnovo	3,437	0.1	0	New
Bulgarian Green Federation	3,347	0.1	0	New
Bulgarian Revolutionary Youth Party	2,446	0.1	0	0
Bulgarian National Movement for the Eternal Path	2,438	0.1	0	New
Bulgarian Fatherland Party – National Union	2,301	0.1	0	0
Front of Progressive Forces in Bulgaria	1,135	0.0	0	0
Alliance of the Nation - Movement of the Downtrodden	670	0.0	0	0
Independents	19,335	0.5	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	35,956	–	–	–
Total	4,291,257	100	240	0
Sources: Nohlen & Stöver, University of Essex

¹ The Union for National Salvation was an alliance between the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, the Green Party of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union "Nikola Petkov", the Union of Democratic Forces-Centre, New Choice and the Federation "Kingdom of Bulgaria".

Aftermath

See Kostov Government