Formation The party traces its roots to the first major rift within the restored Bulgarian Social Democratic Party after the fall of communism. On 17 and 18 August 1991, following the adoption of the new
Bulgarian constitution on 12 July of that year, an initiative committee held what it called the 39th Extraordinary Congress of the BSDP in
Sofia and elected a new leadership headed by Ivan Kurtev. After a court dispute, this faction formally adopted the name Social Democratic Party, with 14 April 1992 recognised as the founding date of the new organisation.
1997 parliamentary election At the
1997 parliamentary election, the SDP ran within the
Union of Democratic Forces electoral alliance and secured eleven seats in the
38th National Assembly. Party leader Ivan Kurtev served as a Deputy Chairperson of the National Assembly during that parliament, which backed the government of
Ivan Kostov. The coalition did not win any seats.
2015 local elections At the
2015 Bulgarian local elections, candidates standing on Social Democratic Party lists won the mayoralty of one municipality (
Parvomay), nine town and village mayoralties and eighteen municipal councillor seats. Counting officials elected on joint lists that included the SDP, the party was associated with four municipal mayors, 41 town and village mayors, and 78 municipal councillors across the country.
2023 parliamentary election For the
April 2023 parliamentary election, the SDP was part of the coalition "
Zaedno" (Together), which also included the Green Party, Fair Bulgaria United Patriots and the Movement of Non-Party Candidates. The coalition was represented by former speaker of the National Assembly
Iva Miteva and former MP Lyubomir Karimanski. On the ballot for the 2 April vote, Zaedno was assigned number 8. The coalition failed to cross the 4% threshold and did not enter the 49th National Assembly.
2026 parliamentary election , whose return to party politics in 2026 produced the "Progressive Bulgaria" coalition of which the SDP is a mandate-holding member. On 2 March 2026, the SDP registered with the Central Electoral Commission as part of the newly formed coalition "
Progressive Bulgaria" for the
snap parliamentary election of 19 April 2026. The coalition was assembled around former President
Rumen Radev, who had resigned from the presidency in January 2026, and is co-chaired by former caretaker Prime Minister
Galab Donev and former Minister of Defence
Dimitar Stoyanov. The three mandate-holding parties are the
Political Movement Social Democrats led by
Elena Noneva, the Social Democratic Party led by Todor Barbolov, and the Our People Movement led by
Atanas Kalchev, mayor of
Krichim. Progressive Bulgaria won a landslide victory at the 19 April election, obtaining approximately 44% of the vote and an outright majority of seats in the National Assembly, the first such result since 1997. == Political positions ==