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Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union (EU) in 2007 validated the country’s impressive democratic advances in the 17 years since the fall of communism. Bulgaria has built a competitive multiparty system with an increasingly strong civil society, however, continued reform ensuring judicial independence and combating organized crime and its alleged infiltration of government is needed to consolidate the young democracy. The EU’s unprecedented sanction of Bulgaria underscores the gravity of these problems.
For their part, Bulgaria’s citizens are disillusioned, as measured by voter turnout rates and public confidence in governing bodies. It falls to the country’s political parties, particularly the governing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), to lead reform efforts that build public confidence in governing institutions and the political process. Voters will have their say in the 2009 parliamentary elections, when the BSP faces a new center-right challenger, the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB).
NDI’s work in Bulgaria has focused on fair elections and informed voting, constituent outreach by members of parliament and, more recently, promoting the inclusion of women and Roma in the political process to orient policymaking around the needs of these two large constituencies.
Women’s Political Participation
With NDI training, women members of parliament have crossed party lines and reached out to civic groups to champion legislation on labor safety, education, and pension reform. NDI also helped women members of parliament bolster female candidates in the 2007 local elections with direct training and an elections and governance manual, leading to an increase of women elected to municipal government.
Roma Political Participation
Since 2004, NDI has helped Roma in Bulgaria to become more active and effective in politics. NDI’s leadership training series equipped 75 Romani activists with the skills to run for office, advocate for their communities, govern effectively, and train other Roma. In partnership with parliament and the Open Society Foundation, NDI created a legislative internship program that has graduated 45 Roma. NDI has trained Romani candidates for the local elections, and a sizable number of them were elected, many from mainstream party lists. NDI’s civil society partners have successfully advocated for the inclusion of Roma in committees overseeing the distribution of EU funds.
Other Programs
Funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for International Development, NDI has supported Bulgaria’s democratic transition by helping political parties to increase their public outreach, promoting the participation of women and minorities, developing MP’s constituency outreach skills, and supporting civic groups as they conduct advocacy initiatives and engage citizens through Get-Out-The-Vote campaigns.
Contact Information
For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:
Washington, D.C.
Nadia Mouzykina, Program Officer
(202) 728-5441
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Pictured Above: Majda Potrata of Slovenia listens as Snezana Grozdilova of Bulgaria discusses antidiscrimination legislation at an NDI roundtable aside the World Conference of Women Parliamentarians in Sofia.
