1879 Bulgarian Constituent Assembly election

Elections were held in Bulgaria between 1 and 30 January 1879 to elect a 89 of the 230 representatives of the. It convened in Tarnovo to, as outlined in article 4 of the Treaty of Berlin, draft the constitution of the newly established Principality of Bulgaria, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.

Electoral system

The Assembly consisted of 117 ex officio members, 24 appointed by the leader of the provisional government,, and 89 elected MPs.

The Assembly convened on 10 February and was in session until 16 April, when it ratified the constitution. The parliament was later transferred to Sofia, which became the capital of the country. The constitution was very democratic for its time, with a strong legislature, support for which saw the first political divisions between Liberals and Conservatives.
As the constitution came into effect, the Constituent Assembly dissolved itself and its members became members of the I Grand National Assembly, tasked with electing the country's monarch. Three candidates were proposed: Pricne Reuss, Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Prince Alexander of Battenberg. As per a secret agreement between Russia and the European Great Powers, Battenberg was chosen, with a large majority. Dondukov-Korsakov then dissolved the Grand National Assembly on 18 April. According to some sources, the Assembly was in session until 26 June, when Battenberg arrived in Tarnovo to swear to defend the new constitution, but no records of sessions after 18 April have been found. The country's first government was appointed on 5 July, consisting entirely of conservatives.