The Bulgarian Left (, ''Bǎlgarskata levitsa'', BL) is a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

political party in Bulgaria. It was created in February 2009 predominantly by members of the

Bulgarian Socialist Party The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), also known as The Centenarian, is a centre-left, social democratic political party in Bulgaria. The BSP is a member of the Socialist International, Party of European Socialists, and Progressive Alliance. Alt ...

(BSP), with its constituent congress taking place on 4 April 2009. Its leaders are Hristofor Dochev, Ivan Genov, and Margarita Mileva. A full member of the

Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed ...

(PEL) since September 2010, it is one of the few parties in the country to hold progressive views in regards to LGBT rights in Bulgaria. Alongside the BSP, the

Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria () is a list of political parties in Bulgaria, political party in Bulgaria established by former Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov (1997–2001). History Kostov resigned as chairman of the United Democratic F ...

, and the

Green Movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...

, the BL was one of the few parties to have supported the parade organizers' right to hold the

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, and the only party, alongside the Greens, to have send statements of support to the parade. In the

2013 Bulgarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 12 May 2013, two months ahead of schedule. Protests had forced the resignation of the GERB government in February, leading to the election being moved up. The elections resulted in a minority par ...

, the BL won 5,924 votes (0.17%) and failed to win any seats. In the

2014 Bulgarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 5 October 2014 to elect the 43rd National Assembly (Bulgaria), National Assembly. GERB remained the largest party, winning 84 of the 240 seats with around a third of the vote. A total of eight part ...

, the party participated in a coalition with the

Green Party of Bulgaria The Green Party () is an environmentalist political party in Bulgaria. It was founded in Sofia in 1989 by Aleksandar Karakachanov, who later went on to become the chairperson of the party. History The Green Party was established on December 28 ...

; together, they won 7,010 votes (0.21%). This coalition continued during

2017 Bulgarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria on 26 March 2017. They had originally been scheduled for 2018 at the end of the four-year term of the National Assembly. However, following the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the fai ...

, in which they won 2,876 votes (0.08%). In the run up to the 2024

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

elections, BL joined Solidary Bulgaria.

Election results

National Assembly

European Parliament

Notes

References

External links

Official website
2009 establishments in Bulgaria Democratic socialist parties in Europe Party of the European Left member parties Political parties established in 2009 Socialist parties in Bulgaria {{Europe-socialist-party-stub