Bulgaria Marks 20 Years since Convention of Constitutional Assembly

Politics » DOMESTIC | July 9, 2010, Friday // 09:26
Bulgaria: Bulgaria Marks 20 Years since Convention of Constitutional Assembly The largest pro-democracy demonstration in Bulgaria after 1989 took place on June 7, 1990, on the "Eagle's Bridge" in downtown Sofia, featuring 1 million participants according to some estimates. File photo

Bulgaria's Parliament is holding a special sitting commemorating 20 years since the convening of the Grand National Assembly in 1990 which led to the country's current Constitution.

The Parliament leadership has invited to the President, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet members as well as representatives of other state institutions and of NGO to attend the special sitting.

Bulgaria's Seventh Grand National Assembly was in place between July 10, 1990, and October 2, 1991. It resulted from the country's first democratic elections after the implosion of the communist regime in 1989, and since the 1930s, and led to the adoption of the current Bulgarian Constitution.

The Grand National Assembly is an equivalent of the Bulgarian National Assembly, or Parliament, which is elected when the nation has to deal with issues of paramount importance such as adopting a new constitution, approving territorial changes, choosing a new head of state (a monarch in the past), changing the form of government, rescinding constitutional provisions or international agreements, or acquiring emergency powers.

The Grand National Assembly has 400 deputies in contrast to the 240 in the regular assembly; of those 200 are elected as majority candidates and 200 as proportional candidates.

In the Seventh Grand National Assembly in 1990-1991, based on democratic elections in June 1990, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (back then the renamed former communist party) won 210 seats, the opposition rightist Union of Democratic Forces won 145 seats, the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) won 23 seats, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union won 16 seats; the remaining 6 seats were apportioned among minor parties.

Of the 400 deputies 366 were men and 34 were women.

After adopting the Bulgarian Constitution on July 2, 1991, the Grand National Assembly transforms itself into a regular parliament until October 1991 when it decides to dissolve so that new parliamentary elections can be held.

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Tags: Grand national assembly, Bulgarian Communist Party, communist regime, 1989, 1990 election, 1990, Union of Democratic Forces, Bulgarian Socialist Party, DPS, Movement for Rights and Freedoms, constitution

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