The Greens (Bulgaria)
The Greens is a green political party of Bulgaria founded in 2008.
History
Zelenite emerged from a number of non-governmental organizations who felt, after years of work in the area of environment protection, human rights, etc. that their work needed serious political backing if it was to have a lasting effect.A major motivation to found a political party was criticism of various shortcomings in the political system in Bulgaria, including widespread corruption, lack of democratic control, and the general malfunction of state institutions at all levels.
The party had its inaugural meeting in May 2008 in Sofia. During the following three months, more than 6000 members were registered.
According to its statutes, the party has three chairpersons with equal rights.
In 2019, shortly before the European elections, the party was forced to change its name from "The Greens" to "The Green Movement" because of a decision by Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation which stated that another party had a right to the name. The leadership of the Green Movement commented for the media: "Unfortunately, the pressure on us comes literally on the eve of the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, and at a time when the Greens, as part of the Democratic Bulgaria coalition, we have all chances to become a real political factor opposing the corrupt and populist status quo".
Chairpersons
As first chairpersons were elected Denica Petrova, Andrey Kovachev and Petko Kovachev. A national assembly of the party in May 2010 consisting of about 50 delegates elected a new board of chairpersons with Georg Tuparev, Daniela Bozhinova and Andrey Kovachev.Programme
The Greens see themselves as part of the network of green parties in Europe.The political programme of the Greens reflects to a large extent the programme of the European Green Party but also includes topics specific for Bulgaria such as changes in the political system in order to overcome inherent problems of governance and democratic control.
Elections
After an effective grassroots campaign, the Greens managed to secure registration for the June 2009 European Parliament elections, and received the official endorsement of the European Green Party. The party gained 0.72%. In the 2009 Bulgarian parliamentary election, the party gained 21,841 Votes, or 0.52%, which made it the ninth party of Bulgaria.Statistics
| Election | # of seats won | # of total votes | % of popular vote | rank | Notes |
| 2009 | 18,444 | 0.72% | 10th | ||
| 2014 | 12,547 | 0.56% | 11th | ||
| 2019 | 118,484 | 6.06% | 5th | In a coalition with Yes, Bulgaria! and Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria |