Bulgaria

H

Transport

Bulgaria is largely dependent on railways for transport, with about 4,163 km (2,587 mi) of track in use as of 2005. The country is also served by about 102,016 km (63,390 mi) of roads. A major event in the development of transport in Bulgaria was the opening of the Ruse-Giurgiu road-and-rail bridge over the River Danube in 1954; it is the chief bridge of its type connecting Bulgaria and Romania. In the mid-1990s there was a ratio of 4.7 people per vehicle.

The River Danube is a major artery of commerce. Of the dozen Danube ports, Ruse, Svishtov, Lom, and Vidin have the greatest importance. Much of the Bulgarian freight and passenger traffic uses the Danube and the Black Sea. The port of Burgas on the Black Sea, one of the few profitable state-owned industries, is expected to become the main transit point to service the increased traffic resulting from the Caspian oil industry and the developing economies of central Asia, and there are plans to develop new quays and terminals over the next 18 years.

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, the national airline, serves the major cities of the country, including Vrazhdebna International Airport at Sofia.

I

Communications

In the mid-1990s about 2.9 million telephones were in operation in Bulgaria, and some 5 million radios were in use in 1997. Television started on an experimental basis in 1954 and was officially inaugurated in 1959. By the mid-1990s more than 20 television stations were in operation, and it was estimated that in 2000 3.7 million television sets were in use.

Until recently, all Bulgarian periodicals were published either by the government or by government-approved organizations, and reflected government policy. In 1999 52 dailies were being published. The leading dailies early in 1992 were Workers’ Cause, formerly the official organ of the Communist Party, and Democracy, both published in Sofia.

V

Government

From 1946 to 1990, Bulgaria had a Communist form of government with only one legal political party, the Bulgarian Communist Party. Early in 1990, however, the Bulgarian constitution was amended to allow a multi-party system, and in July 1991 a new constitution was approved.

A

Executive and Legislature

The government is led by the president of the republic, who is directly elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years. The legislature is a unicameral body called the National Assembly, which consists of 240 members elected by popular vote, by proportional representation, for four-year terms. The Assembly elects the Council of Ministers, which is the highest administrative body in the Bulgarian government. The prime minister is the chair of the Council of Ministers.

B

Judiciary

The constitution enacted in 1991 provides for an independent judiciary and for the establishment of a constitutional court, consisting of 12 members elected or appointed for a term of 9 years. The Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation sit in Sofia. The Supreme Judicial Council consists of 25 members: the chief prosecutor, heads of both supreme courts, 11 members elected by the judiciary, and 11 members elected by the National Assembly. Other tribunals in Bulgaria include provincial courts, regional courts, and military courts.