Bulgaria Awake Будна България | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Nikolay Barekov |
| Founded | 25 January 2014 as Bulgaria Without Censorship |
| Headquarters | Cherni Vrah Blvd,Sofia,Bulgaria |
| Ideology | Right-wing populism[1] National conservatism Bulgarian nationalism[2] Anti-corruption[1] Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Centre-right(self-declared)[3] |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (until 2019) |
| European Parliament group | European Conservatives and Reformists[4] |
| Colours | White,Green,Red |
| National Assembly | 0 / 240 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 17 [5] |
| Website | |
| prezaredibg.com | |
Bulgaria Awake (Bulgarian:Презареди България,romanized: Prezaredi Balgariya; formerly known asReload Bulgaria (Bulgarian:Презареди България,romanized: Prezaredi Balgariya, andBulgaria Uncensored,Bulgarian:България без цензура) is apopulist political party inBulgaria.[6]
The party was founded by former TV hostNikolay Barekov in January 2014. It ran for the first time in the May2014 European Parliament election,[7] taking one seat in theEuropean Parliament as part of a coalition withVMRO and joined the softeurosceptic group ofEuropean Conservatives and Reformists.[4]
The BWC-VMRO coalition did not last, however, and VMRO left to team up with other nationalist parties for theparliamentary elections of October 2014.[8] On 18 August 2014, BWC sealed a coalition agreement withLIDER to run in the upcoming elections.[9]
The party made contradicting comments on the form of government. In June 2014, Barekov declared his support for the restoration of theBulgarian Monarchy andSimeon II asTsar of Bulgaria.[10] 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.[10] On other occasions he called for apeople's republic.[2]
Despite holding 15 seats in the Assembly, Reload Bulgaria chose not to compete in the2017 parliamentary elections after being initially refused a name change, among other reasons.[11] The party participated in the2019 EU parliamentary elections, losing two seats.
In 2022, the party was renamed to Bulgaria Awake. The party has not contested an election since 2019, however, its nominal leader, Nikolay Barekov, participated in theOctober 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election as the list leader for theAPS inVratsa.[12]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 186,938 | 5.69% | 15 / 240 | 6th |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 238,629 | 10.66% | 2 / 17 | 4th |
| 2019 | 3,907 | 0.19% | 0 / 17 | 18th |
