REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS: ANALYSIS OF THE LEADING PARTIES’ PROGRAMS IN BULGARIA 2026 PARLAMENTARY ELECTIONS
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS: ANALYSIS OF THE LEADING PARTIES’ PROGRAMS IN BULGARIA 2026 PARLAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Summary/Abstract: Bulgaria has held 8 early elections for а National Assembly in the last 5 years. This political instability is affecting the effectiveness of public governance and the country's regional development. The study aims to compare the election programs of the political formations that entered the new parliament. The analysis assesses the extent to which the programs prioritize regional development. The paper outlines the relationship between a full-mandate parliamentary governance and the implementation of effective regional policy. Parliamentary election programs of six parties are evaluated with the OECD criteria for the implementation of regional policy. The results show the place regional development has in the political vision of the new legislative authority in the country. A limitation of the analysis turned out to be the weak applicability of the methodology used to election programs. The main conclusion is that regional policy is clearly and comprehensively represented in the parties’ proposals for the development of different sectors. A need is outlined for the development of a more precise tool for analyzing political documents on regional topics.

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