The president of the Republic of Bulgaria is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

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 Macedo ...

and the commander-in-chief of the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...

. The official residence of the president is at Boyana Residence,

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 h ...

. After the completion of the second round of voting, candidate

Rumen Radev Rumen Georgiev Radev ( bg, Румен Георгиев Радев ; born 18 June 1963) is a Bulgarian politician and former major general who is the current president of Bulgaria since 22 January 2017. Radev previously served as higher comman ...

was elected President of Bulgaria on 13 November 2016. In

, the president's role is primarily as a symbolic figure, with the main function being to be the ' arbitrator' of disputes between Bulgaria's different institutions. They are not considered

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

or part of the nation's

executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

. The president is elected for a five-year term, which is renewable only once. After an individual has served two terms as president, that individual will forever be barred from being elected to the presidency again under the rules set out by Bulgaria's Constitution. The president addresses the nation on national television annually on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

, just moments before the start of the new year.

Election

Eligibility for election

For a Bulgarian citizen to be able to run for the office of President of Bulgaria, they must fulfil the following conditions: *Must be a Bulgarian citizen *Must be at least 40 years old *Must have lived in Bulgaria for the five years prior to the candidacy *Must fulfil all conditions that would be required for election as a representative to Bulgaria's National Assembly

Electoral system

The president is elected directly by the Bulgarian people in a two-round majoritarian election. If a candidate manages to obtain more than 50% of the vote and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was at least 50% in the first round, that candidate is elected. If no candidate manages to obtain more than 50% of the vote or the voter turnout was lower than 50% in the first round, then the two top-performing candidates face off in a second round with

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast the ...

, with the candidate receiving the larger number of votes considered elected.

Restrictions

The president is banned from also being a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

, as well taking on any other government, public or private offices for the duration of his term. The president is also constitutionally forbidden from being involved in a leadership position of a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

while in office. In practice, despite the fact that most candidates for president are elected from a political party's list and despite the fact that the Constitution doesn't forbid the president from being an ordinary member of a political party, it is widely expected in Bulgarian society that the president-elect renounce all affiliations with political parties once elected and serve as an

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Powers and privileges

The president of Bulgaria has a number of functions and powers that are regulated in Chapter 4 of the 1991 Constitution of Bulgaria. The president is elected directly by a popular vote for a period of five years which is renewable.

Presidential powers

The following powers belong to the president of Bulgaria: *The ability to give, restore or revoke

Bulgarian citizenship Bulgarian nationality law is governed by the Constitution of Bulgaria (article 25 and 26) of 1991 and the citizenship law of 1999 (with changes made in various years through to 2009). It is mainly based on jus sanguinis; however, it is possibl ...

, as well as

refugee status A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

. *Appoint and dismiss senior government officials *Exercise the right to

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

convicted criminals, as well as forgive 'uncollectible' debts owed to the government *Rename villages, towns and cities, as well as objects of national importance *Act as Supreme commander-in-chief of the

Bulgarian Armed Forces The Bulgarian Army ( bg, Българска армия, Bŭlgarska armiya) is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military ...

*Represent Bulgaria at home and abroad *Schedule the National and local elections within the intervals designated by law *Veto any bill coming from the National Assembly by refusing to sign it after its passage in the assembly. *Declares war,

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

or any other

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

(This is done with the assistance of the Consultative Council on National Security) *Grant and award the

orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria Order (decoration), Orders, State decoration, decorations and medals of Bulgaria are regulated by the law on the Orders and Medals of the Republic of Bulgaria of 29 May 2003. The National Museum of Military History (Bulgaria), National Military Hi ...

Immunity

The president enjoys blanket

legal immunity Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. Su ...

during his tenure and is not held responsible for any act performed while on duty, with the exception of treason or violation of the Bulgarian constitution. His authority may only be stripped via impeachment and may not be removed by any other institution. The president cannot be detained and may not be prosecuted.

Vice president

The president is assisted in these duties by the

vice president of Bulgaria The vice president of the Republic of Bulgaria is a position, established by the Constitution of Bulgaria, and the only active vice presidential office in the European Union (EU).Another EU member state, Cyprus, also has a post of Vice Presiden ...

. The vice president replaces the president in case of absence. Only upon early termination of office of the vice president will assume the duties of president until elections are held. The Constitution permits the president to delegate to the vice president the powers to appoint and dismiss certain officials, issue pardons and amnesty, provide citizenship and refugee status, but does not allow the president to delegate any of his other powers., enjoys the same privileges of immunity as the president and can only be dismissed from his office under the same procedures as those regarding the president.

Termination of office

According to the constitution, the mandate of the president is completed if and when: *The presidential term expires *The president resigns before the Constitutional Court *The president is permanently unable to perform his/her duties due to serious illness *The president dies while in office *The president is

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

Impeachment

Impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

can only begin if the president has committed

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

or has violated the Constitution of Bulgaria. Impeachment starts after at least a quarter of the members of the National Assembly deposit an accusatory act before the assembly. The act must then be approved by a

supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...

of 2/3 of all elected representatives in order to be accepted. If accepted, the case is referred to the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria, which must decide within a one-month time span whether or not the president is guilty of the crime he has been accused of by the Assembly. If the constitutional court finds that the president has committed treason or violated the constitution, as per the accusatory act, then the president is considered successfully impeached and is stripped of his authority.

Bulgarian presidential line of succession

*1.

Vice President of Bulgaria The vice president of the Republic of Bulgaria is a position, established by the Constitution of Bulgaria, and the only active vice presidential office in the European Union (EU).Another EU member state, Cyprus, also has a post of Vice Presiden ...

*2. Chairman of the National Assembly *3.

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Asse ...

Election

Eligibility for election

Electoral system

Restrictions

Powers and privileges

Presidential powers

Immunity

Vice president

Termination of office

Impeachment

Bulgarian presidential line of succession

Latest election

See also

Notes

References

External links