The party was established by
Dragan Tsankov as a splinter from the
Liberal Party in 1884, and was pro-
Russian in its orientation. It supported the
1886 pro-Russian coup and its ministers were the only ones to accept being appointed to the short-lived Kliment II government. Following the counter-coup and the appointment of Stambolov as Prime Minister, the party was banned and Tsankov fled to Russia. It was restored after Tsankov's return, following Stambolov's fall from power in 1894. In the
1894 elections it won eight of the 167 seats, a total it maintained in the
1899 elections. In the
1901 elections the PLP emerged as the largest party, winning 40 of the 164 seats. It remained the largest party after the
1902 elections, winning 89 seats, but was reduced to six seats in the
1903 elections. The alliance was continued for the
parliamentary elections later in the year, with the two parties winning 190 of the 213 seats, of which the PLP took 91. Tsankov died in 1911, and was replaced as party leader by
Stoyan Danev, ==References==