Velichie

Velichie (Величие) is a Bulgarian political party founded in 2023, with strong connections to the Bulgarian business-person, Ivelin Mihaylov. The party's positions are strong in Vetrino Municipality and received parliamentary representation following the 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election.

Founding
The Velichie party was founded in the summer of 2023 in the Vetrino municipality, with the nominal founder often being cited as Ivelin Mihaylov. In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Mihaylov recounted that the party was founded by Vetrino locals in response to plans to build a wind-energy production site in the municipality, with Mihaylov helping in the organisation of the party structures.

The party contested the 2023 Bulgarian local elections, where they gained 40.51% of the votes in the Vetrino Municipality.

In 2024, the party began an association with Nikolay Markov, who was often called the party's leader, despite not being registered as such legally. Until 2007, Nikolay Markov (Bulgarian politician) had served for 14 years in the National Guard Service (NSO), the service that guards Bulgaria's presidents, prime ministers, ministers and top politicians. Although Markov was often called as "the colonel" in media publications, he technically left the system with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He left the NSO in 2007 after a scandal with then-president Georgi Parvanov, whom he accused of abusing his power by collecting information that was inconvenient for politicians. After that, Markov has appeared in some media as an expert on national security and counterterrorism.

In April 2024, Velichie leader Nikolay Markov announced that the party would participate in the snap parliamentary election and in the European Parliament election. Viktoria Vassileva, a former member of the National Assembly from Union of Democratic Forces and then from There is Such a People, also participates in the work of the Velichie party. She was the leader of the Sofia regional party list in the 2024 elections.

Despite not appearing in most opinion polls, the Velichie party passed the 4% electoral threshold for the parliamentary election and gained 13 seats in the National Assembly. On election day, the party leadership seemed to allude that the vote had been rigged against the party. Additionally, they attacked sociological agencies for what they perceived to be an intentional omission of the party from opinion polls.

Parliamentary activity
The Velichie party had 13 seats at the start of the 50th National Assembly, with Nikolay Markov, being selected as the chair of the Parliamentary Group.

Prior to the convention of the National Assembly, Markov did not deny the possibility of Velichie negotiating with GERB, however, clarified that they would only negotiate with GERB leader, Boyko Borisov. Ultimately, the party did not attend the meeting organised by the GERB negotiation team on 18 June.

During the first session of the National Assembly, the Velichie Parliamentary Group nominated its own candidates for the position of Speaker, although both candidacies failed to gather support outside of the grouping. During the first session, Nikolay Markov, the chief of the Parliamentary Grouping, came late, with it later being alleged by Velichie MP, Darin Georgiev, that the reason for Markov's lateness was due to attempts at blackmail by GERB. Markov, in the days following, seemed to confirm the allegations, stating that a contact group representing "three political parties" had threatened to release an audio-tape implicating himself and the party's founder, Ivelin Mihaylov, if Velichie did not give political support to GERB.

On 21 June, during a vote for who should chair the commission responsible for preparing the rulebook, the Velichie group voted together with GERB and DPS, thus assuring a majority for the GERB nominee, Anna Aleksandrova. In the aftermath of this vote, the parties founder, Ivelin Mihaylov, alleged that there was a possibility of a division within the parliamentary group, with 5-6 MPs potentially being aligned with GERB. Mihaylov's comments provoked an angry reaction from the leader of the Parliamentary Group, Markov, who accused him of undermining his authority and harming the reputation of the party. Mihaylov backed down from his comment following Markov's statement, apologised to the MPs and emphasised his confidence in their abilities.

On 26 June, the parties representatives attended consultations with President Radev, during which they made clear their support for a government based on a clear program, and stated that they would not support a GERB-led government due to a lack of communication from the largest party.

On 1 July, shortly after the nomination of Rosen Zhelyazkov as GERB's PM candidate, a message was published on the social media platform, X from the account of Ivelin Mihaylov, calling on Velichie MPs to vote in favour of the proposed government. In a message on Facebook, he clarified that his account on X was hacked and that his position that Velichie should vote against a government proposed by GERB had not changed.

Later that day, Mihaylov published a series of claims on Facebook alleging that Nikolay Markov and a group of MPs aligned with him (specifically, Viktoria Vasileva) had threatened him, and planned to vote in favour of the proposed GERB cabinet. On 2 July, he published an adress to Velichie supporters in which he expanded on his allegations against Markov, claiming that Markov had reached a deal with GERB and had attempted to side-line Mihaylov within the party, even promising to alleviate legal pressure against him in exchange for his political disengagement. The adress was joined by Velichie MP, Krasimira Kantincharova, who supported Mihaylov's claims that Markov and Vasileva had attempted to assert control over parties the parliamentary group for their own personal ends.

On 3 July, Markov made a Facebook post in which he officially disassociated himself from the party, and further claimed that it was a political vehicle for Mihaylov's economic interests.

Despite the allegations brought forth by Mihaylov, the entirety of the Velichie Parliamentary Group was present and voted against the nomination of Rosen Zhelyazkov for PM.

Speaking to the parties supporters in Razgrad shortly after the vote, Mihaylov informed them that a vote was scheduled for 4 July to expel Markov and Vasileva from the Parliamentary Group. Additionally, he continued his prior accusations against Markov, for instance accusing him of threatening 5 female MPs within the group. After Mihaylov's statement, the Central Council of Velichie formally requested that Markov and Vasileva leave the Parliamentary Group of the party.

In a statement to the media on 4 July, Markov claimed that the rift between him and Mihaylov had originated due to Mihaylov's insistence that the Velichie group cooperate with Revival. He further underlined Mihaylov's outsized influence within the party, considering he was not part of the leadership. Ultimately, however, Markov indicated that he was open to leaving the parliamentary group, due to the presence of MPs within it who he alleged were controlled by Mihaylov through financial coercion.

On 5 July, 6 MPs from the Velichie Parliamentary Group officially announced their intention to leave it, thus dissolving the group. The MPs, in a briefing to the press, justified their decision due to a loss of confidence in the Parliamentary Group leadership. Specifically, the MPs cited a lack of communication from Markov about key topics, such as the parties stance in government negotiations, as well as Markov's social media statements in which he officially disavowed the party. The MPs claimed that they had attempted to remove the current leadership, however their efforts proved unsuccessful due to obstruction by the leadership.

Markov claimed that the group of MPs who had left were beholden to Mihaylov financially. He also claimed that Mihaylov had attempted to intimidate Velichie MPs, recounting that he had locked a group of MPs in his barn and demanded they vote in favour of certain laws. Another Velichie MP, Darin Georgiev, corroborated Markov's allegation that Mihaylov had locked a group of Velichie MPs, in his barn against their will. He further opined that the dissolution of the group meant the end of the political party, although he did not exclude future political cooperation with those MPs who had "not betrayed the ideals of Velichie".

Despite Georgiev's claim, Mihaylov announced that Velichie would continue its political activity and contest future elections, albeit with new candidate-MPs.

Ideology
According to Nikolay Markov, the main goals of the party are to promote Bulgarian investments in the country, accelerate the completion of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant and bring the fight against organized crime in the country to the European level. Markov also pointed out the prevention of Bulgaria's participation in the military conflict in Ukraine, suspending the legal possibilities of such military intervention.

Bulgarian media call Velichie a Russophile and anti-Western party, competing with Revival in this field. Velichie has denied claims of being pro-Russian or of being opposed to Bulgaria's membership in NATO and the EU.

Allegations of connections with a para-military organisation
Some media outlets have alleged that Velichie has its own paramilitary organization, called "Bulgarski Yunak" (lit. 'Bulgarian Hero'), which is registered as a sports club. The organization provides military training includes "urban survival" and "building capture and retreat with covering fire." However, party figures have denied this allegation.