Political Parties and Groups

1.   INTRODUCTION

Not until late 1988 did political groups independent of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) arise in Bulgaria. Since the ouster of Todor Zhivkov in November 1989, the number of such groups has proliferated, spurred on by the April 1990 Law on Political Groups and Parties and national multi-party parliamentary elections in June 1990.

According to a Bulgarian press report of May 1990, 56 parties and movements were set to contest the June elections (FBIS-EEU-90-094 15 May 1990, 18-19). Since then, the total number of legally registered political parties, movements and groups has risen to well over 100.

Shortly before the June elections, the BCP changed its name to the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) (See the Q & A on this party for more detailed information). The allocation of seats in the Grand National Assembly (GNA) as a result of the elections was: BSP, 211; Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), 144; Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), 23; Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BANU), 16; Fatherland Union, 2; Independents, 2; Fatherland Party of Labour, 1; Social Democratic Party (non-Marxists), 1 (RFE 29 June 1990, 3).

The current President of Bulgaria is the former leader of the UDF, Zhelyu Zhelev. In early August 1990, the GNA elected him President after his predecessor, Petar Mladenov, resigned due to the broadcast of a controversial remark he had made in December 1989.

Despite its majority in the GNA, the BSP, hampered by opposition protests and strikes, was unable to form a stable, workable government. In mid-November, the second BSP government since the June elections resigned. One month later, after intensive inter-party negotiations, a coalition government was formed.

The coalition consists of a prime minister, three deputy prime ministers, and 15 cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister and four cabinet ministers, including the Minister of Internal Affairs, are independents in that they do not belong to any party. The BSP, UDF, and BANU have one deputy prime minister each. The BSP controls six ministries while the UDF and BANU have two cabinet ministers each (RFE 18 Jan. 1991, 7, 8; RFE 22 Feb. 1991, 9ftn).

In the negotiations preceding the formation of the coalition government, both the UDF and the BSP were vying for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so they could control access to secret police files compiled by previous Communist governments. This crucial deadlock was broken by giving the job to Hristo Danov, a retired lawyer not affiliated with any political party. UDF members were given the two most important economic ministries. This fulfilled one of the UDF's prerequisites for joining a coalition government, which is now introducing economic "shock therapy" in Bulgaria, similar to measures administered in Poland in 1989 and 1990 (RFE 18 Jan. 1991, 7; Current History Dec. 1990, 427).

2.                PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION GROUPS

2.1       The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF)

The UDF is a coalition of 16 political parties and groups. Some of its original members are the first independent political forces to have emerged in Bulgaria in the late 1980s, challenging the BCP's monopoly of power. For a list of the constituent members of the UDF, refer to Appendix 1. This list is as comprehensive as possible given frequent changes in the orientation of many of Bulgaria's political parties.

Significant changes have occurred within the UDF since June 1990. The Podkrepa Independent Labour Federation is no longer a full member but maintains observer status. In October 1990, the Alternative Socialist Party (ASP), a faction which left the BSP in January 1990, joined the UDF. The UDF has often been divided on issues such as radical economic reform and whether to join in a coalition government with the BSP and other political parties.

Three key parties in the UDF are the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party (BSDP), the BANU-Nikola Petkov, and the Green Party. Together the BSDP and the BANU-Nikola Petkov account for almost half of the UDF's parliamentary seats (FBIS-EEU-91-027 8 Feb. 1991, 9).

The BSDP is led by Petar Dertliev and has about 90,000 members. Its programme is based on "the principles of modern social democracy, freedom and justice" and it is considered to be "somewhat left of the mainstream" within the UDF (RFE Feb. 1990, 6). The BSDP newspaper is called Svoboden Narod.

Dertliev was the UDF's candidate for President through five rounds of voting in the GNA before being replaced by Zhelev because he was reportedly unacceptable to the BSP as a presidential candidate (East European Reporter 1990a, 26). The party's stand on the coalition government is unclear. While it supported the formation of the new government, it expelled one of its members, Ivan Pushkarov, from the party after he accepted the post of Minister of Industry, Trade, and Services. He has nevertheless retained this post (RFE 18 Jan. 1991, 55). On 10 January 1991, Dertliev was elected one of two deputy leaders of the UDF.

The UDF has tried to avoid taking a firm stand on the politically sensitive ethnic issues in Bulgaria. As an individual party, however, the BSDP has been relatively outspoken on such questions. On 26 February 1991, the party's Executive Council issued a statement which read, in part: "the state must guarantee conditions for the optional study of the mother language of Bulgarian citizens with different ethnic awareness." The statement also suggested that demonstrations by Bulgarians against minority rights for ethnic Turks were "orchestrated" by former Communist officials (FBIS-EEU-91-043 5 Mar. 1991, 8-9).

The BANU-Nikola Petkov, named after the agrarian leader who was executed by the Communists in the late 1940s, was established in December 1989 as an alternative to the BANU, which had been controlled by the BCP under the old regime. Its policies include a rehabilitation of Petkov and the establishment of market reforms, especially private ownership in agriculture. The party's current leader is Milan Drenchev.

The Green Party was founded in December 1989 and has emulated Western Green parties, emphasizing environmental issues, human rights, and political freedoms. Its January 1990 membership was reported to be 1,000, but it has probably grown since then (RFE 31 Aug. 1990, 5; East European Reporter 1990d, 33). The Green Party is led by Aleksandr Karakachanov, who has also been the mayor of Sofia since September 1990. In December 1990, a high-ranking Green Party member, Filip Dimitrov, was elected leader of the UDF. The party has a weekly newspaper called Ekopolitika.

What follows is a brief description of various other parties and groups in the UDF. The leader of the United Democratic Centre (UDC), Stoyan Ganev, is also one of the UDF's two deputy leaders. Little information is available on the former party's policies or membership. The Independent Association for the Protection of Human Rights in Bulgaria (IAPHR) is Bulgaria's first independent human rights group, formed in January 1988. Its leader, Dr. Rumen Vodenicharov, was recently expelled from the party and sources consulted do not indicate who the new leader is. Vodenicharov often took politically unpopular stands such as openly supporting minority rights for ethnic Turks in Bulgaria and stating that ousted leader Todor Zhivkov, who is currently on trial, has been denied legal rights. Some reports suggest that the IAPHR plans to leave the UDF to become a non-partisan human rights monitoring group in Bulgaria (East European Reporter 1990d, 34; International Human Rights Law Group May 1990, 23).

Ecoglasnost is led by Petar Slabokov. One of its high-ranking members is Petar Beron, who, from July 1990 to December 1990, was the leader of the UDF. Many of the founding members of Ecoglasnost went on to form the Green Party and there is little difference between the platforms of the two groups.

The Democratic Party (DP) is described by its leader, Stefan Savov, as a "rightist party" that supports parliamentary democracy. At a party congress on 16 December 1990, the DP made Zname its official press organ (FBIS-EEU-90-244 19 Dec. 1990, 8,9).

The constituent members of the UDF differ on a number of issues such as economic reform, whether the UDF should have joined the coalition government, and whether Bulgaria should become a constitutional monarchy (FBIS-EEU-91-004 7 Jan. 1991, 12; RFE 18 Jan. 1991, 55).

Another highly divisive issue stems from reports that a number of UDF members in the GNA may have been informers for State Security (the secret police) during the Zhivkov years. On 3 December 1990, the UDF leader Petar Beron resigned after Podkrepa leader Trenchev accused him of having acted as an informer for State Security. The next day, the GNA asked the Ministry of Interior Affairs to provide information on 71 GNA members whom Trenchev had listed as being former informers (RFE 14 Dec. 1990, 40). A Parliamentary Commission was formed to investigate Trenchev's allegations and by 25 January 1991, Bulgarian press reports were putting the number of members "involved" at about 30. The Commission was due to present its findings on 20 February 1991, but reports consulted since that date provide no further information (FBIS-EEU-91-018 28 Jan. 1991, 8).

Green Party Member of Parliament Soloman Pasi has described the UDF as "an unnatural coalition," and reports have referred to the rise of two distinct sub-groups in the Union, with the BSDP and the BANU-Nikola Petkov on one side and the "younger" UDC, Radical Democrats, and Greens on the other (FBIS-EEU-91-010 15 Jan. 1991, 13, 14; FBIS-EEU-90-251 31 Dec. 1990, 6, 7). Even this distinction is of limited use in that BSDP leader Dertliev has referred to the BANU-Nikola Petkov as "rather backward-oriented" (FBIS-EEU-91-027 8 Feb. 1991, 9). It is uncertain whether the UDF will remain intact for the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held this May or June. BSDP leader Petar Dertliev believes that a "strong core" of the UDF will remain to contest the elections but another possibility is that each member group will run candidates individually (East European Reporter 1990a, 26).

2.2             The Movement for Rights and Freedoms

Founded in December 1989, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is led by Ahmed Dogan and was officially registered as a "movement" in April 1990. Its predominantly ethnic Turkish membership is put at approximately 160,000, which includes about 4,000 ethnic Bulgarians. The June 1990 elections sent the MRF to parliament as the third strongest force (East European Reporter 1990b, 27). In mid-February 1991, the first issue of the MRF paper, Prava I Svobodi (Rights and Freedoms), was published in Bulgarian and Turkish, but the BTA report announcing the paper's appearance did not provide a circulation figure (FBIS-EEU-91-032 15 Feb. 1991, 11).

Since its inception, the MRF has had to walk a fine line between an official ban on ethnic parties and its primary goal of expanding minority rights for Bulgaria's one million ethnic Turks. MRF politicians have tried assiduously to allay the fears of nationalist Bulgarians who believe the group threatens the territorial integrity of the country.

Speaking to the GNA in late September 1990, the MRF spokesman Yunal Lyutfiev stressed that his movement did not support Turkish nationalism or pan-Turkism (FBIS-EEU-90-190 1 Oct. 1990, 22). Dogan has tried to de-emphasize the MRF's Turkish base by pointing to the fact that four of the movement's 23 parliamentary deputies are ethnic Bulgarians, a disproportionately high number considering the composition of the MRF's membership. He has also denied that the group received funding from Turkey (RFE 31 Aug. 1990, 4). During the MRF's congress in late October 1990, two of its most radical nationalist leaders were expelled from the movement (East European Reporter 1990b, 27).

The MRF has advocated a number of minority rights including the establishment of "cultural and information centres" in regions with large numbers of ethnic Turks and voluntary Turkish language instruction for ethnic Turkish school children. It has also championed the plight of ethnic Turks who have returned to Bulgaria after fleeing to Turkey in the summer of 1989, claiming that the vast majority have not been compensated for property confiscated during their absence (FBIS-EEU-90-211 31 Oct. 1990, 12; RFE 2 Nov. 1990, 48). The movement has called for the resignation of the Chief Mufti of Muslims in Bulgaria, Nedim Gendzhev, claiming he has been compromised by his past cooperation with the Zhivkov regime (FBIS-EEU-91-017 25 Jan. 1991, 16).

The MRF has faced some problems related to its status as a registered political movement. According to the U.S. Department of State, the MRF's legal registration "was delayed for several critical weeks before the June election as court and government officials debated whether to allow an organization representing an ethnic and religious minority to be registered" (Country Reports 1990 1991, 1104). Supporters of the MRF reported a number of incidents of harassment and intimidation by local officials directed at the MRF during the election campaign (Helsinki Watch Aug. 1990, 7, 8). After the elections, both the BSP and the UDF argued that the MRF should not have been registered, and they tried to have the movement's 23 GNA members barred from the Assembly. By August 1990, both groups had withdrawn this demand (Ibid., 4).

2.3  The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union

Because it was controlled by the BCP before 1989, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union faced many of the same problems as the BSP in trying to gain credibility with Bulgarian voters. Its fourth place finish in the June 1990 elections came as a disappointment considering the BANU's leading role during Bulgaria's previous brief interludes of democracy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Current History Dec. 1990, 417-8).

Since Zhivkov's ouster, the BANU has tried to entice its sister party into a reunification and has indicated that it supports the UDF over the BSP. After the first round of the June 1990 elections, BANU leader Viktor Valkov urged the party's supporters to vote for UDF candidates if a BANU candidate was no longer in the running. In late September 1990, a decision of the party's Supreme Council read "The [UDF] and the other oppositional democratic parties and movements can be natural allies of the [BANU]" (FBIS-EEU-90-194 5 Oct. 1990, 7).

As early as December 1989, long-time BANU leader Petar Tanchev was ousted and on 1 March 1990, Valkov took over the chairmanship of the party from Angel Dimitrov, whom the party membership thought was "too compromised" by his actions under the Zhivkov regime (RFE 31 Aug. 1990, 5). Valkov came within three votes of being elected President in July 1990, before Zhelev entered the race and won in the sixth round. He is now a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the coalition government.

3.    THE NON-PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION

3.1             Podkrepa

Podkrepa is a national independent trade union which emulates Poland's Solidarity movement. Its leader is Konstantin Trenchev and its goals include economic and political reforms. At the time of the June 1990 elections, Podkrepa had a membership of approximately 200,000, organized into local chapters throughout the country. Podkrepa is one of the founding members of the UDF. The latter's support for economic shock therapy, however, currently being implemented by the coalition government, is fundamentally in conflict with Podkrepa's reasserted role as a labour union representing workers' interests (FBIS-EEU-91-025 6 Feb. 1991, 12, 13).

Human rights observers have received anecdotal reports that Podkrepa members are facing discrimination in terms of job hiring and dismissals. This is corroborated by at least two reports in Demokratsiya, the UDF daily newspaper. According to one of these reports, the director of a firm in Burgas "dismissed an entire department of 30 persons with the sole aim of eliminating almost 20 members of `Podkrepa'" (FBIS-EEU-91-042 4 Mar. 1991, 8; Zang 25 Feb. 1991).

3.2       The Alternative Socialist Groups

Until October 1990, the Alternative Socialist Organization (ASO) was a liberal faction within the BSP. On 6 October, the majority of the ASO decided to leave the BSP and form a separate party, which was renamed the Forum of Free Democrats (FFD). The minority that stayed behind is known as the ASO-Inner Party Opposition. The FFD's leader is Manol Manolov (FBIS-EEU-90-210 30 Oct. 1990, 7).

In January 1990, the Alternative Socialist Party (ASP) broke from the then BCP to form a separate party. Led by Nikolay Vasilev, the ASP joined the UDF on 18 October 1990 (FBIS-EEU-90-203 19 Oct. 1990, 6). Both the FFD and ASP have similar policies but information on those policies is sparse. Since the FFD broke from the BSP after the June 1990 elections, it is possible that it took some parliamentary seats with it, but reports consulted do not indicate whether or not this is the case.

3.3            The Committee for the Protection of National Interests (CPNI)

The CPNI was formed in January 1990 by provincial nationalist groups opposed to the government's decision to restore Turkish names and religious rights. It is led by Dimitur Arnaudov and is described as an "extreme nationalist" group (RFE 30 Nov. 1990, 34).

The CPNI has organized rallies and sit-in strikes to oppose concessions to Bulgaria's ethnic minorities, especially the Turks. The Committee believes that teaching Turkish in Bulgaria's schools violates the Constitution, and it supports various actions to protest the experimental introduction of voluntary Turkish language instruction in schools. These protests have taken place mostly in southeastern and northeastern Bulgaria, in provinces heavily populated by ethnic Turks and Muslims, and have included the obstruction of traffic, hunger strikes, teachers' strikes, and petitions (FBIS-EEU-91-013 18 Jan. 1991, 13; FBIS-EEU-91-045 7 Mar. 1991, 4).

The CPNI engineered the creation of the symbolically autonomous "Razgrad Republic" on 22 November 1990, to protest a decision by the GNA six days earlier to modify the process for restoring Turkish names to those whose names were forcibly Bulgarized under the old regime. Those wishing their former names to be restored must now go through an administrative procedure instead of a more cumbersome court procedure (RFE 30 Nov. 1990, 33).

In April 1990, the Haskovo branch of the CPNI organized a petition protesting the government's proposal to assist ethnic Turks returning to Bulgaria from Turkey (RFE 20 Apr. 1990, 45).

The Fatherland Party of Labour (FPL) is closely associated with the CPNI and Dimitur Arnaudov is the FPL's single member in the GNA.

3.4                The Macedonian Groups

The Bulgarian government's view of ethnic Macedonians has always been unequivocal: Macedonia is a geographic area and, within Bulgaria, the people in that region are ethnic Bulgarians. Even the new President Zhelev expressed this view in early August in an interview with Adam Michnik, the editor of the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza (RFE 14 Sept. 1990, 5). Since the ouster of Zhivkov, a number of groups have formed to deal with the Macedonian question in Bulgaria.

Two of them, the Ilinden United Macedonian Organization (Ilinden) and the Ilinden IMRO-Independent, want the Bulgarian government to recognize the Macedonian minority and guarantee it the right to use the Macedonian language and promote Macedonian culture (RFE 24 Aug. 1990, 6). Ilinden was founded in April 1990 and is based in the Pirin region of southwestern Bulgaria. It claims a membership of approximately 500 and is led by Stoyan Georgiev. Ilinden IMRO-Independent was founded in November 1989 and is based in Sofia. Its more than 600 members are led by Georgi Solunski (Helsinki Watch 12 Feb. 1991, 2).

Local courts have denied both groups official registration on the grounds that their aims violate the Constitution and the Law on Political Groups and Parties, both of which prohibit the creation of ethnically-based groups. Ilinden appealed to the Supreme Court which upheld the Blageovgrad district court's decision in early November 1990. The group revised its constitution and is now waiting for a final decision by the Supreme Court. Ilinden IMRO-Independent made the same changes to its constitution and has reapplied to the Sofia procurator's office following the refusal of its initial application for registration in July 1990 (FBIS-EEU-90-223 19 Nov. 1990, 21; Helsinki Watch 12 Feb. 1991, 6-7).

The changes made to the statutes of both Ilinden and Ilinden IMRO-Independent emphasize that these groups do not question the territorial integrity of Bulgaria and foreswear the use of violence in achieving their goals (Helsinki Watch 12 Feb. 1991, 6-7).

According to Helsinki Watch, members of both Ilinden groups have faced harassment from the authorities as a result of their non-violent political activities. This has included intimidation by State Security (the secret police), short-term detention, confiscation of personal papers and passports, and fines (Ibid., 5-10).

A large number of Macedonian and nationalist Bulgarian groups exist which oppose the goals of Ilinden and Ilinden IMRO-Independent, and support the official Bulgarian view that Macedonians are actually ethnic Bulgarians. The main Macedonian group of this nature is the Union of Macedonian Associations (UMA) led by Stoyan Boyadjiev (FBIS-EEU-90-243 18 Dec. 1990, 19-20). The UMA publishes a monthly newspaper called Makedoniya and its editor has recently modified the group's view on the Macedonian question in Bulgaria: "The fact that [Ilinden and Ilinden IMRO-Independent] want to deny that they are Bulgarians is a psychological and pathological question. There aren't cultural differences [between Macedonians and Bulgarians]" (Helsinki Watch 12 Feb. 1991, 5).

Other groups which support the UMA's position are the All-Bulgarian Union, the Todor Alexandrov Society, the Saint Clement of Ohrid Union, the Vardar Discussion Club, and the National Democratic Party (FBIS-EEU-90-088 7 May 1990, 12; RFE 6 Apr. 1990, 47).

4.                APPENDIX 1: POLITICAL PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS IN BULGARIA

NOTE: The names of the following political parties and movements were taken from the various sources used in the writing of this document.

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BANU); also known as Bulgarian National Agrarian Union

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-Nikola Petkov; see Union of Democratic Forces

Alternative Socialist Party

Association for the Protection of the Environment

Association of Free Bulgarian Towns with Free Bulgarian Citizens

Bulgarian Business Bloc

Bulgarian Business Party

Christian Democratic Front; see Union of Democratic Forces

Christian Democratic Party; also referred to as The Christian Republican Party; see also Federation of Christian Parties and Movements

Christian Democratic Party (II)

Christian Democratic Party (Center)

Christian Radical Party; see also Federation of Christian Parties and Movements

Christian Republican Party; see Christian Democratic Party

New Christian Democratic Party; see also Federation of Christian Parties and Movements

Christian Patriotic Youth Union

Christian Social Union (coalition)

Citizens' Initiative; see Union of Democratic Forces

Club for the Victims of Repression after 1945; see Union of Democratic Forces

Coalition of Extraparliamentary Forces

Committee for the Defence of National Interests; also referred to as Committee for Saving National Interests, Committee for Defence of Religious Rights, Freedom of Conscience and Spiritual Values; see Union of Democratic Forces

Communist Party

Communist Party-Revolutionary; formerly Revolutionary Youth Party

Conservative Party

Democratic Party; see Union of Democratic Forces

Democratic Party - Plovdiv

Democratic Constitutional Party

Democratic Forum; see Bulgarian Socialist Party

`Democratic Front' Independent Public Citizen's Organization

Democratic League for the Defence of Human Rights

Democratic Youth

Dimitrov Communist Youth Union

Ecoglasnost; see Union of Democratic Forces

Fatherland Party Fatherland Party of Labour; also known as Fatherland Labour Party

Fatherland Union

Federation of Christian Parties and Movements in Bulgaria

Members include:

Christian Radical Party

Christian Democratic Party

New Christian Democratic Party

Federation of Clubs for Glasnost and Democracy; see Union of Democratic Forces

Federation of Independent Student Societies; see Union of Democratic Forces

Green Party; see Union of Democratic Forces

Ilinden IMRO-Independent

Ilinden United Macedonian Organization

Independent Association for the Protection of Human Rights in Bulgaria; see Union of Democratic Forces

Independent Liberal Party

Independent Prisoners' Defense Association "Obnovlenie"

Independent Public Organization of Citizens

Industrial Circle

Liberal Congress Party; formerly The Social Democratic Party (non-Marxist)

Liberal Democratic Party; formerly The Party of Free Democrats

Liberal Party

Liberal Union (coalition)

Macedonian Youth Brotherhood

Movement for Rights and Freedoms; also referred to as The Association for Rights and Liberties

National Patriotic Movement

National Radical Party

National Democratic Forum (coalition)

National Democratic Union

National Democratic Party

National Strike Committee

"New Bulgaria" Movement

"New Democracy" Bulgarian National Union

New Socialist Party

Party of Labour

Party of Liberty and Progress

People's Party

Podkrepa

Political Opposition Bloc

Members include:

Bulgarian Liberal Democratic Party

Christian Republican Party

Radical Democratic Party; see Union of Democratic Forces

Republican Party in Bulgaria

Republican Party

Revolutionary Youth Party Roma Democratic Union

St. Clement of Ohrid Union

"St. Stambolov" People's Liberal Party

6 September Forum

Social Democratic Party; see Union of Democratic Forces

Social Democratic Party (non-Marxist); see Liberal Congress Party

Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP); formerly The Bulgarian Communist Party

Factions include:

United Front for the Restructuring and Defence of Socialism

Alternative Socialist Organization (Internal)

Bulgarian Road to Europe

Marxist Alternative Movement

Democratic Forum

Europe Social Democratic Platform

Socialist Party (I)

Socialist Youth Union

Svaboda (coalition)

Union for Civic Economic Initiative

Union of Democratic Forces (coalition)

Members include:

Ecoglasnost

Green Party

Social Democratic Party (BSDP)

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-Nikola Petkov

Democratic Party

Radical Democratic Party

Citizen's Initiative

Committee for Defence of Religious Rights, Freedom of Conscience and Spiritual Values

Independent Association for the Protection of Human Rights in Bulgaria

Federation of Independent Student Societies

Federation of Clubs for Glasnost and Democracy

Club for the Victims of Repression after 1945

United Democratic Center

Christian Democratic Front; formerly The Democratic Front

Union of Democratic Moslems

Union of Disabled in Bulgaria

Union of Entrepreneurs

Union of Free Democrats (umbrella group)

Members include:

Forum of Free Democrats

Free Democratic Party

Union for Civil Society

Union of Thracian Cultural-Educational Societies

United Democratic Center; see Union of Democratic Forces

"Zveno" People's Union

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