Constituent Assembly elections were held in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

between 1 and 30 January 1879, although only 117 of the 231 members of the Assembly were elected during this period. It followed the country's

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and saw the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

emerge as the two main parties. The Assembly was opened on 10 February, and convened in

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

to ratify the country's first

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, known as the

Tarnovo Constitution The Tarnovo Constitution ( bg, Търновска конституция) was the first constitution of Bulgaria. It was adopted on 16 April 1879 ( O.S.) by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of ...

, on 16 April. The parliament was later transferred to

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, which became the capital of the country. Following debates between the Conservatives, who were in favour of a bicameral parliament, and the Liberals, who supported a unicameral system, the new constitution made provision for a unicameral National Assembly,Nohlen & Stöver, p352 which was elected later in the year.

Elected members

Ivancho Hadzhipenchovich Ivancho Velichkov Hadzhipenchovich (Bulgarian: Иванчо Величков Хаджипенчович; 1822, Ruse - 25 March 1894, Sofia) was an Ottoman and Bulgarian statesman. Among the many offices he held, he is perhaps best remembered for ...

References

{{Authority control

1879 in Bulgaria Elections in Bulgaria January 1879 events