The BSP has lost about 770 thousand voters since 2017, reported the acting chairman of the BSP Atanas Zafirov in his report on the activities of the National Council during the meeting of the 51st Congress of the party.
In the parliamentary elections from 2021 to 2024, the BSP was decreasing its result, with the exception of the last elections, he pointed out. From nearly 1 million votes in the 2017 parliamentary elections, the BSP reached an electoral bottom of about 200 thousand votes and lost its status as a major opposition force, he pointed out.
The BSP has ceased to be an attractive entity for thousands of Bulgarian citizens seeking a way out of the political impasse, without necessarily being supporters of the left, Zafirov also commented.
He noted that the BSP lost about 470 thousand votes or 60% of the votes lost in the period 2017-2024 in the elections in April 2021. Then the BSP lost its entire periphery and in the next elections it never returned, the acting chairman of the BSP pointed out.
One of the main political mistakes is the BSP's attempt to follow, above all, a foreign political program - that of the liberal urban right, Atanas Zafirov reported. In his words, the BSP tried to become an anti-corruption and protest party, rather than follow its authentic policy.
The election results of October 2024 gave hope to left-wing voters that the most difficult moments were over, Atanas Zafirov pointed out. He also considered the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly from the "BSP-United Left" as a success.
The main goal of the BSP's participation in the current government is the way out of the political crisis, strengthening parliamentary democracy, restoring trust in institutions and, above all, restoring statehood, he also stated, BTA reports.
In front of journalists before the start of the congress, Atanas Zafirov expressed hope that the BSP would emerge from this forum much more motivated, much more consolidated and much more secure on the path it is taking.
Regarding the election of the BSP Speaker by direct election or by the Congress, he commented that both methods have their advantages and possibilities for distortion. Zafirov assured that whatever the procedure, it will be sufficiently democratic and the next Speaker will have full legitimacy to represent the BSP.