mass protests

The paper examines the phenomenon of the 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary elections. The case study is focused on five distinctive features: /1/ the electoral success of new parties; /2/ the intensity, efficiency and main demands of the mass protests preceding the triple parliamentary elections; /3/ the downward trend in the exceptionally low turnout; /4/ the electoral cost of party clientelism and corruption of the incumbent parties; /5/ the destabilisation of the party system and the possible trajectories of change.