Reload Bulgaria ( bg, Презареди България, Prezaredi Balgariya; formerly Bulgaria Uncensored, bg, България без цензура) is a
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
political party 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 ...
.
History
The party was created by former TV host
Nikolay Barekov
Nikolay Tihomirov Barekov ( bg, Николай Тихомиров Бареков; born 16 October 1972) is a Bulgarian journalist, politician, and businessman. Since January 2014 he has been the leader of the political party Bulgaria Without Cen ...
in January 2014. It ran for the first time in the May
2014 European Parliament election
The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014.
It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...
, taking one seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
as part of a
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
with
IMRO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
and joined the soft
eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
group of
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European pol ...
.
This BBT-IMRO coalition did not last, however, and IMRO left to team up with other nationalist parties for the
parliamentary elections of October 2014.
On 18 August 2014 BBT sealed a coalition agreement with
LIDER to run in the upcoming elections.
In June 2014, Barekov declared his support for the restoration of the
Bulgarian Monarchy
The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of Ase ...
and
Simeon II as
Tsar of Bulgaria
The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of Asen ...
.
He vowed that should his party win a general election, he would introduce referendums on a number of issues, including the restoration of the monarchy.
[
Despite holding 15 seats in the Assembly, Reload Bulgaria chose not to compete in the 2017 parliamentary elections after being initially refused a name change, among other reasons.]
Election results
National Assembly
European Parliament
References
{{Political parties in Bulgaria
Conservative parties in Bulgaria
Monarchist parties
Monarchism in Bulgaria
Nationalist parties in Bulgaria
Political parties established in 2014
2014 establishments in Bulgaria
Eastern Orthodox political parties
Right-wing populist parties