GERB

For other uses, see Gerb (disambiguation).

GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria^[1] (Bulgarian: Граждани за европейско развитие на България, romanized: Grazhdani za evropeysko razvitie na Bŭlgaria), is a conservative populist^[6][7] political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria during the periods between 2009–2013 and 2017–2021.

Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria Граждани за европейско развитие на България
Abbreviation	GERB[1]
Chairman	Boyko Borisov[1]
Deputy Chairmen[2]	Tomislav Donchev Daniel Mitov
Founded	3 December 2006 (2006-12-03)
Split from	National Movement Simeon II
Headquarters	Sofia
Membership (2018)	94,000[3]
Ideology	Conservatism[5] Populism[10] Pro-Europeanism[12]
Political position	Centre-right[15]
National affiliation	GERB–SDS
European affiliation	European People's Party
European Parliament group	European People's Party
International affiliation	International Democracy Union[16] Centrist Democrat International
Colours	Blue
National Assembly	68 / 240
European Parliament	5 / 17
Municipalities	99 / 265
Party flag
Website
www.gerb.bg
Politics of Bulgaria Political parties Elections

History

GERB is headed by former Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov, the former mayor of Sofia, former member of the National Movement Simeon II and former personal guard of Todor Zhivkov in the 1990s. The establishment of the party followed the creation of a non-profit organization with the acronym (in Bulgarian) GERB — Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, earlier the same year.

In early January 2007,^[17] and early February 2007,^[18] the party came second in public polls on party support with around 14%, trailing the Bulgarian Socialist Party which had around 25%. Its stated priorities are fighting crime and corruption, preserving family as the cornerstone of society and achieving energy independence.

GERB won the 2009 European Parliament election in Bulgaria with 24.36% of the vote. The party elected five MEPs and joined the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament (in the EPP section). On June 6, 2007, GERB applied formally to join as a member-party the European People's Party^[19] and joined EPP on February 7, 2008.^[20]

GERB won the 2009 parliamentary elections, held a month after the European ballot, winning 39.7% of the popular vote and 116 seats (out of 240). After the elections, a new government was formed, led by Borisov, primarily with GERB members and with 5 independent ministers around Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov. The reformist wing was responsible for some of the most significant legislative victories, including a Constitutional reform to ban tax increases. GERB's candidates for the 2011 presidential election, Rosen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova (presidential nominee and running mate, respectively), won the elections on the second ballot with 52.6% of the popular vote.

On February 20, 2013, the government resigned after nationwide protests demanding it to step down.^[21] GERB lost the 2013 parliamentary elections with 84 seats, receiving 27.5% of the popular vote. However, due to the collapse of the coalition government in 2016 due to a new, even bigger wave of mass protests, GERB backed into power after the snap elections.

In 2020 GERB suffered a split, as a sizable number of members and local party organizations left alongside former second-in-command Tsvetan Tsvetanov to form the Republicans for Bulgaria party.^[22] The whole second half of 2020 saw mass protests against the GERB government, but nevertheless, Borisov did not resign.

In the April 2021 parliamentary election GERB was first with 26.18% of the vote. In the July 2021 snap election, former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB-led coalition was the second with 23.51 percent of the vote.^[23] The next snap election was in November same year, Kiril Petkov's coalition emerged as surprise victors over the conservative GERB party, which dominated Bulgarian politics in the last decade. GERB has been in opposition since December 2021^[24] until June 2022 - the fall of Petkov's government.

List of chairmen

No.	Name	Portrait	Term of office
1	Tsvetan Tsvetanov (1965–)		3 December 2006	10 January 2010
2	Boyko Borisov (1959–)		10 January 2010	Incumbent

Parliamentary leaders

No.	Name	Portrait	National Assembly
1	Krasimir Velchev (1951–)		41st
2	Boyko Borisov (1959–)		42nd
3	Tsvetan Tsvetanov (1965–)		43rd
4	Daniela Daritkova (1966–)		44th
5	Desislava Atanasova (1978–)		45th
			46th
			47th
			48th
			49th
6	Boyko Borisov (1959–)		49th

Election results

National Assembly

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Status
2009	1,678,583	39.72 (#1)	116 / 240	New	Minority
2013	1,081,605	30.55 (#1)	97 / 240	19	Opposition
2014	1,072,491	32.67 (#1)	84 / 240	13	Coalition
2017	1,147,283	32.65 (#1)	95 / 240	11	Coalition
Apr 2021[a]	837,707	25.80 (#1)	75 / 240	22	Snap election
Jul 2021[a]	642,165	23.21 (#2)	63 / 240	12	Snap election
Nov 2021[a]	596,456	22.44 (#2)	59 / 240	4	Opposition
2022[a]	634,627	24.48 (#1)	67 / 240	8	Snap election
2023[a]	669,924	25.39 (#1)	69 / 240	2	Coalition
Jun 2024[a]	530,658	23.99 (#1)	68 / 240	1	Snap election
Oct 2024[a]	642,931	26.39 (#1)	69 / 240	1

Presidential

Election	Candidate	First round			Second round
		Votes	%	Rank	Votes	%	Result
2011	Rosen Plevneliev	1,349,380	40.1	1st	1,698,136	52.6	Won
2016	Tsetska Tsacheva	840,635	22.0	2nd	1,256,485	36.2	Lost
2021	Anastas Gerdzhikov	610,862	22.8	2nd	733,791	31.8	Lost

European Parliament

Election	List leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	EP Group
2007	Dushana Zdravkova	420,001	21.68 (#1)	5 / 18	New	EPP-ED
2009	Rumiana Jeleva	627,693	24.36 (#1)	5 / 18	0	EPP
2014	Tomislav Donchev	680,838	30.40 (#1)	6 / 17	1
2019[a]	Mariya Gabriel	607,194	30.13 (#1)	6 / 17	0
2024[a]	Rosen Zhelyazkov	474,059	23.55 (#1)	5 / 17	1

1. In coalition with SDS.

References

1. "European Election Watch Bulgaria". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
2. https://www.gerb.bg/bg/team/zamestnik_predsedateli/list-0-9.html Заместник-председатели
3. "БСП и ГЕРБ вече почти равни по брой членове" [BSP and GERB now almost even in membership]. 24 Chasa. August 6, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
4. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Bulgaria". Parties and Elections in Europe.
5. ^[1][4]
6. Barzachka, Nina (April 25, 2017). "Bulgaria's government will include far-right nationalist parties for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
7. Hope, Kerin; Troev, Theodor (June 10, 2009). "Populist promises to clean up Bulgaria". Financial Times. Retrieved December 19, 2011.(registration required)
8. Novaković, Igor (2010). ""European" and "Extreme" Populists in the Same Row – the New Government of the Republic of Bulgaria" (PDF). Western Balkans Security Observer (17). ISAC Fund: 63–73. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
9. Cristova, Christiana (2010). "Populism: the Bulgarian case" (PDF). Sociedade e Cultura. 13 (2). Goiânia: 221–232. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
10. ^{[1][6][7][8][9]}
11. Viola, Donatella M. (August 14, 2015). "Routledge Handbook of European Elections". Routledge – via Google Books.
12. ^[1][11]
13. Smilov, Daniel; Jileva, Elena (2009), "The politics of Bulgarian citizenship: National identity, democracy and other uses", Citizenship Policies in the New Europe, Amsterdam University Press, p. 229
14. Jansen, Thomas; Van Hecke, Steven (2012), At Europe's Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People's Party, Springer, p. 78
15. ^{[1][7][13][14]}
16. "Members | International Democracy Union". February 1, 2018.
17. "Socialists Lead GERB in Bulgarian Politics: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Angus Reid Public Opinion. Vision Critical. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
18. "Socialists Gain, GERB Second in Bulgaria: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Angus Reid Public Opinion. Vision Critical. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
19. "Лидерът на ПП ГЕРБ е на двудневно посещение в Брюксел". ГЕРБ (in Bulgarian). June 6, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
20. "Bulgaria's GERB joins European People's Party". SEtimes.com. February 8, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
21. New York Times, The (February 20, 2013). "After Bulgarian Protests, Prime Minister Resigns". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
22. Capital.bg (September 24, 2020). "Заплаха ли е за ГЕРБ новата партия на Цветанов". www.capital.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 4, 2020.
23. "Final Results In Bulgarian Vote Confirm Win For Anti-Elite Party". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. July 14, 2021.
24. "Kiril Petkov chosen by Bulgarian parliament as next prime minister". euronews. December 13, 2021.

External links

• Official website (in English)