The Greens (Bulgaria)
The Greens | |
|---|---|
_Logo.svg.png){kind=logo} | |
| Leader |
Borislav Sandov Andrey Kovachev Anna Pelova |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Sofia |
| Ideology | Green politics |
| European affiliation | European Green Party[1] |
| International affiliation | Global Greens |
| European Parliament group | not represented |
| Colours | Green |
| National Assembly |
0 / 240 |
| European Parliament |
0 / 17 |
| Website | |
| http://www.zelenite.bg/ | |
- This article is about the Bulgarian Greens. For the junior partner of the Socialist-led "Coalition for Bulgaria", see Green Party of Bulgaria.
The Greens (Bulgarian: Зелените, Zelenite) are a green Bulgarian political party founded in 2008.
History
Zelenite emerged from a number of non-governmental organizations who felt, after years of work in the area of environment protection, human rights, etc. that their work needed serious political backing if it was to have a lasting effect.
A major motivation to found a political party was criticism of various shortcomings in the political system in Bulgaria, including widespread corruption, lack of democratic control, and the general malfunction of state institutions at all levels.
The party had its inaugural meeting in May 2008 in Sofia (capital of Bulgaria). During the following three months, more than 6000 members were registered.
According to its statutes, the party has three chairpersons with equal rights.
Chairpersons
As first chairpersons were elected Denica Petrova, Andrey Kovachev and Petko Kovachev (2008). A national assembly of the party in May 2010 consisting of about 50 delegates elected a new board of chairpersons with Georg Tuparev, Daniela Bozhinova and Andrey Kovachev.
Programme
The Greens see themselves as part of the network of green parties in Europe. The political programme of the Greens reflects to a large extent the programme of the European Green Party but also includes topics specific for Bulgaria such as changes in the political system in order to overcome inherent problems of governance and democratic control.
Elections
After an effective grassroots campaign, the Greens managed to secure registration for the June 2009 European Parliament elections, and received the official endorsement of the European Green Party.[2] The party gained 0.72%. In the Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2009, the party gained 21,841 Votes, or 0.52%, which made it the ninth party of Bulgaria.
Statistics
| Election | # of seats won | # of total votes | # of votes from abroad | % of popular vote | rank | Position after the election |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 21,841 | 1,124 | 0.52% | 9th | |
| 2013 | 0 | 26,520 | 1,742 | 0.75% | 14th | |
| 2014 | 0 | 19,990 | 1,729 | 0.61% | 11th | |
| Election | # of seats won | # of total votes | % of popular vote | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 18,644 | 0.72% | 10th |
| 2014 | 0 | 12,547 | 0.56% | 11th |
References
- ↑ EGP website, accessed on 29.7.2013
- ↑ [http://europeangreens.eu/menu/news/news-single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1212&tx_ttnews[backPid]=13&cHash=659bfe9f7e# Press Release: European Greens Support European Election Campaigns of LMP in Hungary and Greens in Bulgaria (EGP News)]
External links
- Official website (Bulgarian)
- Official website of the Sofia (Sredec) local branch of Zelenite (Bulgarian)
- - Party Program (Bulgarian)
- "Bulgarian Greens Established" - Article in The Sofia Echo, 18 May 2008.
- Article in the Bulgarian news portal "aktualno" about the inaugural meeting of "Zelenite" (Bulgarian Greens) on 18 May 2008. (Bulgarian)
- Article in "news.bg" about an initiative of "Zelenite" to stop construction activities in Sofia (15 March 2008) (Bulgarian)
- Interview with Petko Kovachev, chairperson of "Zelenite", 4 June 2008, in "ipsnews".
- Results of the parliamentary elections in June 2009 as published on the party's website (Bulgarian)
- How the established parties try to get rid of their competitors for the European elections. The article (2009) analyzes the bureaucratic obstacles the Greens and other small parties in Bulgaria were facing during two election campaigns in 2009.
