Central Election Commision announced the names of the new Bulgarian MEPs

Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission late last night (June 12) announced the 17 elected members of the European Parliament from Bulgaria.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) chairman, Jevdet Chakarov, Iskra Mihailova-Koparova from MRF and Rosen Zhelyazkov from GERB-UDF have given up their seats in the European Parliament.

GERB-UDF has five MEPs. Andrey Kovachev, Andrey Novakov, Emil Radev and Eva Maydel. And for the first term in the European Parliament enters the Secretary General of the UDF, Iliya Lazarov. They will all join the EPP group.

The three seats from the MRF will be occupied by Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Taner Kabilov, former chairman of the MRF youth organisation, and the fifth on the list - Elena Yoncheva. She was a MEP until now, but elected with the BSP list. The three MRF MEPs will be part of the Liberals' group.

“We Continue the Change” also get three seats. Their list is seriously rearranged by the preferences and so it happens that the former President of the National Assembly Nikola Minchev, Hristo Petrov (known as Itso Hazarta) and Radan Kanev are going to Brussels. Until now, Kanev was part of the EPP group and since the DSB is part of the EPP, he should go there. However, it is not clear which group the two WCC members - Nikola Minchev and Hristo Petrov will join. WCC have declared their desire to be part of the Liberals, where the MRF are.

"Vazrazhdane" also won three seats in the European Parliament - Stanislav Stoyanov, the former BNR journalist Peter Volgin and Rada Laikova.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) had five representatives in the European Parliament so far, but now they will be only two. The leader of the list is Kristian Vigenin, second is Rumen Gechev. Tsvetelina Penkova, who was an MEP until now, with preferences displaces Professor Gechev. And so Vigenin and Penkova were elected MEPs. They will join the Socialists and Democrats group.

“There is Such a People” sends one representative - Ivaylo Valchev.

CEC has until today, June 13 to officially announce the votes received and the distribution of seats among the parties and coalitions in the elections for MPs for Bulgaria’s Parliament. By Sunday, the names of all 240 MPs of the 50th National Assembly should also be known.