GERB


GERB is a conservative, populist Bulgarian political party established on 13 March 2006. The initials of the party /gerb also translate as "coat of arms" in Bulgarian. It is Bulgaria's second-largest party by membership.

History

GERB is headed by 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 GERB — Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, earlier the same year.
In early January 2007, and early February 2007, 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-European Democrats Group in the European Parliament. On June 6, 2007 GERB applied formally to join as a member-party the European People's Party and joined EPP on February 7, 2008.
GERB won the 2009 parliamentary elections, held a month after the European ballot, winning 39.7% of the popular vote and 117 seats. 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. On 20 February 2013, the government resigned after nationwide protests demanding it to step down.
GERB's candidates for the 2011 presidential election, Rosen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova, won the elections on the second ballot with 52.6% of the popular vote.
GERB won the 2013 parliamentary elections with 97 seats, receiving 30.5% of the popular vote. This made GERB the first governing party to be re-elected in the history of the post-communist Bulgaria. However, with lack of support from the other parties and designated to form a new government, Borisov refused the offer and so GERB went in the opposition. However, due to the collapse of the coalition government in 2014, GERB backed into power after the snap elections.

List of chairmen

Elections

Statistics

ElectionSeats wonVotes%Rank
2007420,00121.68%1st
2009627,69324.36%1st
2014680,83830.40%1st
2019607,19431.07%1st