GERB, an acronym for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria[1] (Bulgarian: Граждани за европейско развитие на България, romanized: Grazhdani za evropeysko razvitie na Bŭlgaria), is a conservativepopulist[6][7]political party which was the ruling party of Bulgaria during the periods between 2009–2013 and 2014–2021.
GERB won the 2009 parliamentary elections, held a month after the European ballot, winning 39.7% of the popular vote and 116 seats (out of 240). After the elections, a new government was formed, led by Borisov, primarily with GERB members and with 5 independent ministers around Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov. The reformist wing was responsible for some of the most significant legislative victories, including a Constitutional reform to ban tax increases. GERB's candidates for the 2011 presidential election, Rosen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova (presidential nominee and running mate, respectively), won the elections on the second ballot with 52.6% of the popular vote.
In the April 2021 parliamentary election GERB was first with 26.18% of the vote. In the July 2021 snap election, former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB-led coalition was the second with 23.51 percent of the vote.[23]The next snap election was in November same year, Kiril Petkov's coalition emerged as surprise victors over the conservative GERB party, which dominated Bulgarian politics in the last decade. GERB has been in opposition since December 2021[24] until June 2022 - the fall of Petkov's government.
^Smilov, Daniel; Jileva, Elena (2009), "The politics of Bulgarian citizenship: National identity, democracy and other uses", Citizenship Policies in the New Europe, Amsterdam University Press, p. 229
^Jansen, Thomas; Van Hecke, Steven (2012), At Europe's Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People's Party, Springer, p. 78
