Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy (BNU-ND) () is an

ultranationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...

political party based in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The party claims to be

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

and purports to protect Bulgarian values, but shows sympathies for

National Socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...

. It can also be defined as

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

, because of the negative attitude towards certain communists in history. Its leader is Boyan Rasate since 2014. The party opposes the celebration of what it considers non-Bulgarian holidays in the country, including 9 May, "Victory Day". It draws attention by stating protests and by practicing civil disobedience. The '' Sofia Globe'' considers it a

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

fringe party A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great t ...

, and commented that it has an "unblemished record of never winning any seats in elections".

History

On April 19, 1990, the Sofia City Court House registered the political party "Bulgarian National Union 'New Democracy'" based on Article 9 of the Political Parties Act. Its statute was adopted on March 3, 1990, and Ivan Ivanov was elected as chairman. Kiril Ganev became his deputy, and Dimitar Penchev became the party's secretary. The organization's main goal was the revival of Bulgaria - economically and spiritually. From 2003 to 2019, the party hosted an annual 'Lukov March' to commemorate “fallen heroes of Bulgaria” with a torch march, taking place in February in Sofia. On April 30, 2004, changes were made to the party's central leadership. Bogdan Yotsov became the chairman, and Boris Ivanov became the responsible secretary. On June 6, 2009, Bogdan Yotsov and Boris Ivanov, representing the Bulgarian National Union 'New Democracy', filed an application for registration to participate in the elections for National Assembly deputies on July 5, 2009. A list containing the signatures of 23,374 voters supporting the party was presented. On June 10, the Central Election Commission registered the Bulgarian National Union 'New Democracy' in the register of parties and coalitions for participation in the elections. Later, the party was led by Boyan Rasate, the former chairman of the Bulgarian National Union organization, and participated for the first time under his leadership in the parliamentary elections in 2014. In 2020, the

Supreme Administrative Court A supreme administrative court is the highest court in a country with jurisdiction over lower administrative courts and the administrative decisions of the authorities, but not the legislative decisions (laws) made by the government (which are unde ...

upheld a ban by the Sofia municipality to ban 'Lukov March'. The party condemns the Russian attack on Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, and on February 26, its members attended a protest against Vladimir Putin's aggression. At the protest, the leader of the Bulgarian National Union 'New Democracy', Boyan Rasate, demonstrated his support for the

Ukrainian nationalists Ukrainian nationalism (, ) is the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The origins of modern Ukrainian nationalism emerge during the Cossack uprising against the Poli ...

from the

Azov Brigade The 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov" () is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion (), ...

by waving their flag.

Objectives of the party

The party wants a strong centralized state power and rejects the current

multi-party In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional r ...

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

, calling it "compromised". It wants to dissolve all political parties and all organizations that it claims undermine the foundations of the Bulgarian state and society. The National Assembly should be composed of professionals, elected on a regional basis and competent in their field representatives of different backgrounds and professions. The means of production and the national economy can be both private and public, but the strategic sectors of the economy and public life are to be owned by Bulgarian state. It favors a

conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

army for men and women, and considers the Bulgarian "homeland" to be larger than its current borders. Bulgarian minorities outside of the Republic of Bulgaria are an integral part of the Bulgarian nation and state should protect their interests by any means – such regions include

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

Election results

National Assembly

European Parliament

Controversies

In 2015, the

government of Russia The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

announced against the holding of the 'Lukov March' and accused the organizations supporting it of

Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgarian National Union - New Democracy Anti-immigration politics in Europe Bulgarian nationalism Nationalist parties in Bulgaria Neo-fascist parties Far-right parties in Europe 1990 establishments in Bulgaria Political parties established in 1990 Eurosceptic parties Eurosceptic parties in Bulgaria Neo-fascism Anti-communist parties Anti-communism in Bulgaria