This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
In what appears to be the continuation of a long-standing political deadlock, exit polls gave former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s center-right GERB party the most votes in Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections but without enough support to form a government by itself.
The influential Alpha Research/BNT exit poll gave GERB 26.4 percent of the vote, followed by the reformist PP (We Continue The Change) at 14.9 percent and the far-right, pro-Russia Revival Party at 12.9 percent, amid low turnout.
An exit poll conducted for bTV by Market Links had similar results, albeit with a slightly higher figure for GERB.
Other parties appeared to score enough to reach the 4 percent minimum requirement to gain seats in parliament, with two other groupings near that level.
The vote, which began at 7 a.m. local time and ended at 8 p.m., is being tracked on this live blog by RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service. Official results are expected on October 28.
Borisov’s pro-Western GERB party is not expected to win enough seats for a parliamentary majority and will need to form a coalition.
GERB announced that Borisov would be their candidate for prime minister if it secures at least 80 out of 240 seats in parliament.
PP (We Continue The Change) has said it would not support Borisov for the position and have demanded an independent prime minister with strong anti-corruption credentials.
Bulgaria has been unable to establish a stable government since large-scale anti-corruption protests brought down Borisov’s cabinet in 2020.
Since then, six elections have failed to break the stalemate.
The last election in June was inconclusive, with politicians failing three times to put together a coalition government.
Voting in the June election marked an all-time low in postcommunist Bulgaria, with just 34 percent of eligible voters participating.
Voter turnout was expected to be even lower for the October 27 vote, with the Gallup survey predicting only 31 percent would cast ballots.
In August, President Rumen Radev accepted the proposed cabinet of acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, giving poverty- and corruption-stricken Bulgaria a caretaker government.
Glavchev was appointed as the caretaker prime minister after the government collapsed in March under similar circumstances.
After casting his ballot, Glavchev said that he was voting “for a European and stable Bulgaria with a regular, stable government that respects the constitution of the country and is guided by the interests of the people.”
