Union of Democratic Forces
Съюз на демократичните сили
LeaderRumen Hristov
Founded7 December 1989 (1989-12-07)
Headquarters134 Rakovska Str., 1000 Sofia
Membership (2018)around 10,000[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[10][11]
National affiliationGERB—SDS
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
International Democrat Union
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
Colours  Blue
National Assembly
2 / 240
European Parliament
1 / 17
Municipalities
7 / 265
Website
www.sds.bg

The Union of Democratic Forces (Bulgarian: Съюз на демократичните сили, romanized: Sayuz na demokratichnite sili, СДС / SDS) is a political party in Bulgaria, founded in 1989 as a union of several political organizations in opposition to the communist government. The Union was transformed into a single unified party with the same name. The SDS is a member of the European People's Party (EPP). In the 1990s the party had the largest membership in the country, with one million members,[12] but has since splintered into a number of small parties totaling no more than 40,000 members. The SDS proper had 12,000 members in 2016.[1]

History

Dissident groups formed under the faltering regime of Todor Zhivkov in the late 1980s were the basis for the Union. Once Zhivkov fell, a loose political confederation was envisioned where constituent groups could continue to work for their own cause, while the coordinating council would include three members from each organization. The Longtime dissident philosopher Zhelyu Zhelev, who would later become Bulgaria's president, was elected chairman, and Petar Beron, a well-known environmental scientist, was chosen as secretary.

The SDS was officially founded on 7 December 1989 as a union of eleven political organizations, such as Ekoglasnost, Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers' Party (United) and Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union "Nikola Petkov". The following year, six more parties were incorporated (Radical Democratic Party, Green Party of Bulgaria, Democratic Party, New Social Democratic Party, United Democratic Centre, Democratic Front).[13][14]

The SDS lost the 1990 elections to the Bulgarian Socialist Party but still participated in the joint cabinet of Dimitar Iliev Popov. On 15 May 1991 39 members left the SDS because of disagreements with the draft of the new constitution and founded the new organizations SDS-Center and SDS-Liberals. Later the remnants of the SDS formed their own cabinet with Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov in November 1991, though the cabinet lasted only a little over a year when the government failed a motion of confidence in September 1992. The socialists, together with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, formed a coalition government headed by Prof. Lyuben Berov. Following the resignation of Berov's cabinet in October 1994, the BSP went on to win the 1994 elections.

However, following discontent over economic problems, Prime Minister Zhan Videnov resigned at the end of 1996, clearing the way for new elections, this time won by the SDS with a crushing 55% vote. Party leader Ivan Kostov went on to form the new government and successfully passed several economic reforms. He was eventually rewarded in December 1999 with an invitation to begin membership talks with the European Union. But public discontent over the social cost of the reforms, including increased unemployment, as well as allegations of corruption led to the SDS's defeat in the June 2001 elections, which were won by the National Movement for Simeon II. The United Democratic Forces won 18.2% of the popular vote and 51 out of 240 seats.

The SDS was chaired until the May 20, 2007 European elections by Petar Stoyanov, former president of the country. Meanwhile, Kostov, the former Prime Minister and SDS party leader went on to form his own party - Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria. At the 2005 parliamentary election, the United Democratic Forces won 8.4% of the popular vote and 20 out of 240 seats.

It was announced at the inaugural conference of the Movement for European Reform (MER, March 2007) that the SDS would become official partners alongside the British Conservative Party and the Czech Civic Democratic Party.[15] In mid April 2007, the SDS backtracked on its decision, stating that it remains loyal to the EPP and that it will never leave the EPP section of the EPP-ED Group to join another Group.

In the May 20, 2007 European elections the SDS failed to elect even a single MEP, resulting in the resignation of Stoyanov who led the list.

At the start of 2009 the SDS entered in an electoral alliance named the "Blue Coalition" with four other center-right parties: the DSB, the United Agrarians, the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party and the Radical Democratic Party. The alliance fielded candidates for the June 2009 European election winning a seat. When the Lisbon Treaty came into force in December of that year, their representation doubled. Now both the SDS and the DSB had an MEP.

The Blue coalition placed fifth in the legislative election a month later with a combined 6.8% of the vote and 15 seats.

In the May 2013 elections, the SDS ran alone and lost all of its seats in the Bulgarian National Assembly, but regained four next year as a part of the Reformist Bloc alliance. The same pattern repeated in 2017 and April of 2021, with zero and then two seats respectively (running together with GERB in 2021). Two other MPs joined the SDS later on.[16]

Coalitions

United Democratic Forces

For the 1997 parliamentary elections, an alliance named United Democratic Forces was formed around SDS. The same name was later used for other elections and parliamentary groups.

The Blue Coalition

In early 2009 an alliance was formed together with Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria for the European Parliament elections and National Assembly elections. The coalition was named the Blue Coalition and included some other parties.

The Reformist Bloc

The coalition agreement to form the alliance of the Reformist Bloc was signed on 20 December 2013. The five parties that signed the agreement were the Union of Democratic Forces, Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, Bulgaria for Citizens Movement, People's Party Freedom and Dignity, and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union.[17]

GERB

Since 2019 the party is in a coalition with GERB.

List of chairmen

Chairmen of the Coordination Council

Chairmen and Chairwomen of the unified party

Election results

National Assembly
Election Votes  % Seats +/– Government
1990 2,217,798 36.21 (#2)
144 / 400
 Steady Caretaker
1991 1,903,567 34.4 (#1)
110 / 240
 Decrease 34 Coalition
1994 1,260,374 24.23 (#2)
69 / 240
 Decrease 41 Opposition
1997[lower-alpha 1] 2,223,714 52.3 (#1)
137 / 240
 Increase 68 Coalition
2001[lower-alpha 1] 830,338 18.18 (#2)
51 / 240
 Decrease 86 Opposition
2005[lower-alpha 1] 280,323 7.68 (#5)
20 / 240
 Decrease 31 Opposition
2009[lower-alpha 2] 285,671 6.76 (#5)
15 / 240
 Decrease 5 Support
2013 48,681 1.38 (#12)
0 / 240
 Decrease 15 Extra-parliamentary
2014[lower-alpha 3] 291,806 8.89 (#4)
4 / 240
 Increase 4 Coalition
2017[lower-alpha 3] 107,399 3.06 (#6)
0 / 240
 Decrease 4 Extra-parliamentary
Apr 2021[lower-alpha 4] 837,671 25.71 (#1)
2 / 240
 Increase 2 Snap election
Jul 2021[lower-alpha 4] 642,165 23.21 (#2)
3 / 240
 Increase 1 Snap election
Nov 2021[lower-alpha 4] 596,456 22.44 (#2)
2 / 240
 Decrease 1 Opposition
2022[lower-alpha 4] 634,627 25.34 (#1)
3 / 240
 Increase 1 Snap election
2023[lower-alpha 4] 669,924 25.39 (#1)
2 / 240
 Decrease 1 Coalition


Presidential elections
Election Candidate First round Second round
Votes % Rank Votes % Result
1992 Zhelyu Zhelev 2,273,541 44.66 1st 2,738,420 52.85 Won
1996 Petar Stoyanov 1,889,825 44.07 1st 2,502,517 59.73 Won
2001 Petar Stoyanov 991,680 34.95 2nd 1,731,676 45.87 Lost
2006 Nedelcho Beronov 271,078 9.75% 3rd - - Lost
2011 Rumen Hristov 65,761 1.95% 6th[lower-alpha 2] - - Lost
2016 Traycho Traykov 224,734 5.87% 6th[lower-alpha 3] - - Lost
2021 Anastas Gerdzhikov 610,862 22.8 2nd[lower-alpha 4] 733,791 31.8 Lost


European Parliament
Election Votes  % Seats +/–
2007 84,350 4.35 (#7)
0 / 18
2009[lower-alpha 2] 204,817 7.95 (#6)
1 / 18
 Increase 1
2014[lower-alpha 3] 144,532 6.45 (#5)
0 / 17
 Decrease 1
2019[lower-alpha 4] 607,194 30.13 (#1)
1 / 17
 Increase 1
  1. 1 2 3 Results of the alliance United Democratic Forces.
  2. 1 2 3 Results of the alliance Blue Coalition.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Results of the alliance Reformist Bloc.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Results with GERB.

See also

 Conservatism portal

References

  1. 1 2 "БСП и ГЕРБ вече почти равни по брой членове" [BSP and GERB now almost even in membership]. 24 Chasa. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2013). "Bulgaria". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Bakke, Elisabeth (2010), "Central and East European party systems since 1989", Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989, Cambridge University Press, p. 79, ISBN 9781139487504, retrieved 17 November 2011
  4. ↑ Hanley, Seán (2006), "Getting the Right Right: Redefining the Centre-Right in Post-Communist Europe", Centre-Right Parties in Post-Communist East-Central Europe, Routledge, p. 18
  5. ↑ Metodiev, Momchil (2009), "Bulgaria", Transitional Justice in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union: Reckoning with the communist past, Routledge, p. 161
  6. ↑ Copsey, Nathaniel; Haughton, Tim (8 September 2009). The JCMS Annual Review of the European Union in 2008. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781405189149 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Richard D. (2001), Postcommunism and the Theory of Democracy, Princeton University Press, p. 147
  8. ↑ Anderson, Richard; Anderson, Richard D. Jr.; Fish, M. Steven; Hanson, Stephen E.; Roeder, Philip G. (2 December 2001). Postcommunism and the Theory of Democracy. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691089175 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Viola, Donatella M. (14 August 2015). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. ISBN 9781317503637 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Bugajski, Janusz (2007), The Eastern Dimension of America's New European Allies, Strategic Studies Institute, p. 147
  11. ↑ Szczerbiak, Aleks; Hanley, Seán (2006), "Understanding the Politics of the Right in Contemporary East-Central Europe", Centre-Right Parties in Post-Communist East-Central Europe, Routledge, p. 7
  12. ↑ "Само 344 000 членове стоят зад партиите в парламента - 24chasa.bg". Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Omda.bg - Съюз на демократичните сили /СДС/". OMDA.
  14. ↑ Coordinating Council of the Union of Democratic Forces. Demokratsiya Newspaper, 27 April 1990.
  15. ↑ "Conservative Party - News Story". Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  16. ↑ Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Bulgaria - Parties and Elections in Europe". parties-and-elections.eu. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  17. ↑ "Bulgarian Rightists Seal Reformist Bloc Coalition". Novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
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