By Georgi Slavov
SOFIA (Rtrs) – Bulgaria’s constitutional court said on Thursday that 17 lawmakers were wrongly elected in the country’s October 2024 elections after a recount of votes in hundreds of polling stations, but it rejected calls for a full recount.
The election commission is now tasked with recalculating seat allocations, which could threaten the parliamentary majority of the fragile ruling coalition run by the centre-right GERB party.
The court looked into the election after a complaint by the nationalist Velichie party, which missed the 4% threshold to enter parliament by just a few votes. Velichie is now expected to enter parliament, the court said.
The questions about the election added further turmoil to Bulgaria’s unstable political scene, where for years fractured parties have failed to win majorities or form stable coalitions.
The October poll, which GERB won with about 26% of the vote, was the seventh election in four years. But it was not until January that Bulgaria’s parliament approved a cabinet led by Rosen Zhelyazkov, a former parliament speaker, ending months of coalition negotiations.
Bulgaria needs a period of stable, well-functioning government to accelerate the flow of European Union funds into its creaking infrastructure and nudge it towards adoption of the euro. Plans to join the eurozone have already been pushed back because of missed inflation targets. Accession is currently slated for January 1 2026.
(Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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