Bulgarian political party
Democratic Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Демократична България, ДБ, Demokratichna Balgariya, DB) is an electoral alliance in Bulgaria formed by three political parties – Yes, Bulgaria!, Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria and The Greens. The union was created on 12 April 2018.[12]
History
The creation of Democratic Bulgaria was officially announced through the symbolic signing of a declaration entitled "A Democratic Bulgaria Can Do More". The three parties united after several months of talks on cooperation during the next general election.[13][14] In its manifesto, the union set out its main goals, including to be an alternative to the current government and to consolidate Bulgaria's democratic values and Euro-Atlantic choices.[15]
Structure
The Democratic Bulgaria structure has two co-leaders – Hristo Ivanov of Yes, Bulgaria! and Atanas Atanasov of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria. The leaders of The Greens – Vladislav Panev and Borislav Sandov – also participate in the union's council.[16]
Composition
Political positions
Finance
Some of DB's priorities are Bulgaria's Eurozone and Banking union membership, a reduction of budget spending to 1/3 of the GDP, as well as taxation reform, with a reduction of VAT from 20% to 18% and a non-taxable minimum of the income tax.[17]
Defense
In the sphere of defense, the party seeks public support of the Armed Forces using the Social contract of defensive politics.[18]
Presidential endorsement
For the 2021 Bulgarian presidential election, DB supported the election bid of Lozan Panov, the chairman of the Bulgarian supreme court.[19]
Election results
2019 European Parliament election
In order to select its candidates, Yes, Bulgaria! conducted a remote preliminary election. Those willing to vote could do it digitally using the mobile app of Yes, Bulgaria! or by mail.[20] All members of Yes, Bulgaria! had the right to participate, together with everyone who received an invitation from a current party member.[20] The electoral process began on 27 November 2018, and the final results were declared on 11 February 2019. A total of 5898 people voted, and the candidate with the most votes was Stefan Tafrov, a diplomat and former ambassador.[21]
The candidate of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria for the European elections Svetoslav Malinov was selected through a resolution during the party's National Congress on 12 November 2018.[22] Malinov has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009 as a member of the European People's Party.[22]
On February 22, 2019, The Greens announced their primary candidate for the elections – Albena Simeonova – an environmentalist and entrepreneur in the sphere of bio agriculture. She was elected through an online vote on the website of the party.[23]
Democratic Bulgaria eventually won one seat in the 2019 European Parliament election, which went to DSB member Radan Kanev.[24][25]
2019 Local elections
Local elections were held across Bulgaria on 27 October 2019, with Democratic Bulgaria failing to win a single mayoral contest, but far exceeding expectations in the capital Sofia, where they won 8 out of 25 districts, including most of the city center.[26] The results were seen as a serious setback for the ruling party GERB, which had until then maintained a strong hold on the capital, winning 23 out of 25 districts in 2015.[27]
