People's Voice (Bulgaria)

People's Voice (Bulgarian: Глас народен) is a political party in Bulgaria, founded by Svetoslav Vitkov in 2013.

People's Voice
Глас народен
LeaderSvetoslav Vitkov
Founded2013
HeadquartersGorski Patnik 1, Sofia, Bulgaria
IdeologyEuroscepticism
Populism
ColoursDark blue, Dark red
National Assembly
0 / 240
European Parliament
0 / 17
Municipalities
3 / 265
Website
glasnaroden.bg/

History

The party was established in 2013 by popular Bulgarian punk and ska musician Svetoslav Vitkov just prior to the parliamentary election and achieved relative success by winning 1,34% of the total vote. This result placed it as the 13th largest party in the country, with just a few weeks of campaigning and little to no financial support.[1]

The party became the first one to open its list for the European Parliament election in 2014 to all people willing to participate. Following a series of events, including public debates on European policies, a lie-detector test, and Facebook voting, the party announced its 17 candidates, with most of them having never been involved in politics before. The top two candidates were well-known - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences member and activist Hristo Lafchiev, and political scientist and renowned football fan Aleksandar Alekov. The party soon became known for its provocative, fun and socially open rhetoric, including penalty shoot-outs with other politicians and scandalous video clips.

At the European Parliament elections in May 2014, People's Voice placed 9th with 1,002% of the vote.[2] In the parliamentary elections held in October 2014, the party 37,335 votes, enough to earn it 10th place with 1.14% of the vote.[3]

People's Voice attempted to enter the 2016 presidential election, initially opting for a coalition with The Greens. Their candidate for president was Svetoslav Vitkov, while his running-mate was Ivan Velkov, a Deputy Chairman of the municipal councilor in Sofia.[4] However, on October 5, 2016 their registration in the elections was denied due to an insufficient number of signatures gathered prior to the final deadline for doing so.[5]

At the 2017 parliamentary election, People's Voice entered a coalition with the Reformist Bloc, with Vitkov announced as the top candidate for the 25th electoral district, one of three that comprise the capital Sofia.[6]

The party announced that it would be contesting the 2023 parliamentary election, despite their disappointment with previous election results, justifying it by saying that a "true change" as was hoped for in the 90s is needed.[7]

Electoral history

National Assembly
Election Leader Votes %ì Seats +/– Position after the election
2013 Svetoslav Vitkov 47,419 1.34% (#13)
0 / 240
 New Extra-parliamentary
2014 37,335 1.14% (#10)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2017[lower-alpha 1] 107,407 3.14% (#6)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
Apr 2021 8,330 0.26% (#17)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
Jul 2021 4,741 0.17% (#14)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
Nov 2021 11,548 0.43% (#13)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2022 6,197 0.24% (#15)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
2023 5,560 0.21% (#15)
0 / 240
 Steady 0 Extra-parliamentary
  1. Run as part of Reformist Bloc.

European Parliament
Election # of seats won # of total votes  % of popular vote rank
2014
0 / 17
 22,440 1.00% 9th
2019
0 / 17
 6,136 0.31% 16th

References
  1. "Резултати : Избори за народни представители 2013" (in Bulgarian). Central Electoral Commission (ЦИК). Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  2. "Резултати : Избори за Европейски Парламент 2014" (in Bulgarian). Central Electoral Commission (ЦИК). Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. "Резултати : Избори за народни представители 2014" (in Bulgarian). Central Electoral Commission (ЦИК). Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  4. "Светльо Витков и "Зелените" отиват заедно на президентския вот" [Svetlyo Vitkov and "The Greens" are going together at the presidential vote]. News.bg. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  5. "Светослав Витков и Владимир Кузов отпадат от изборите, не са събрали подписи" [Svetoslav Vitkov and Vladimir Kuzov drop out of the elections, they have not gathered signatures] (in Bulgarian). Dnevnik.bg. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. ""Глас народен" се коалира с Реформаторския блок, Витков ще води в София" ["People's Voice" forms a coalition with the Reformist Bloc, Vitkov to lead in Sofia] (in Bulgarian). Dnevnik.bg. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. "Светльо Витков: Човешката любов е повратлива. Обичат те за "Хиподил", но те мразят за политиката" (in Bulgarian). nova.bg. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
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