Conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
Conventional short form: Bulgaria
Local long form: Republika Bulgaria
Local short form: Bulgaria
Former: Kingdom of Bulgaria, People's Repulic of Bulgaria
Etymology: named after the Bulgar tribes who settled the lower Balkan region in the 7th century A.D.
History: several previous; latest drafted between late 1990 and early 1991, adopted 13 July 1991
Amendments: proposed by the National Assembly or by the president of the republic; passage requires three-fourths majority vote of National Assembly members in three ballots; signed by the National Assembly chairperson; note - under special circumstances, a "Grand National Assembly" is elected with the authority to write a new constitution and amend certain articles of the constitution, including those affecting basic civil rights and national sovereignty; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in each of several readings; amended several times, last in 2015 (2016)
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Bulgaria
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Chief of state: President Rumen RADEV (since 22 January 2017); Vice President Iliana IOTOVA (since 22 January 2017)
Head of government: Prime Minister Boyko BORISSOV (since 4 May 2017); note - BORISSOV served 2 previous terms as prime minister (27 July 2009-13 March 2013 and 7 November 2014-27 January 2017)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly
Elections appointments: president and vice president elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 6 and 13 November 2016 (next to be held in fall 2021); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly
Election results: Rumen RADEV elected president in second round; percent of vote - Rumen RADEV (independent, supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party) 59.4%, Tsetska TSACHEVA (GERB) 36.2%, neither 4.5%; Boyko BORISSOV (GERB) elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - 133 to 100
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 26 March 2017 (next to be held spring 2021)
Election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - GERB 32.7%, BSP 27.2%, United Patriots 9.1%, DPS 9%, Volya 4.2%, other 17.8%; seats by party/coalition - GERB 95, BSP 80, United Patriots 27, DPS 26, Volya 12; composition - men 183, women 57, percent of women 23.8%
Highest courts: Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of a chairman and approximately 72 judges organized into penal, civil, and commercial colleges); Supreme Administrative Court (organized into 2 colleges with various panels of 5 judges each); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 justices); note - Constitutional Court resides outside the judiciary
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative judges elected by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC (consists of 25 members with extensive legal experience) and appointed by the president; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Constitutional Court justices elected by the National Assembly and appointed by the president and the SJC; justices appointed for 9-year terms with renewal of 4 justices every 3 years
Subordinate courts: appeals courts; regional and district courts; administrative courts; courts martial
Name: "Mila Rodino" (Dear Homeland)
Lyrics music: Tsvetan Tsvetkov RADOSLAVOV
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