Opinion polls suggest it will be impossible for any party to win a parliamentary majority, and further coalition talks could be held after the seventh vote in four years.
Bulgarians are voting in the country’s seventh snap election in four years, with dim hopes of ending the country’s political turmoil in favor of the far right.
Opinion polls show that no party will win a majority in Sunday’s vote, and coalition negotiations are likely to drag on even further.
Voting will close at 8pm (6pm GMT) and exit polls will be announced immediately. The first partial results are expected to be announced around midnight (22:00 GMT).
Bulgaria has been in a short-lived government since anti-corruption protests in 2020 led to the collapse of the coalition government led by the centre-right GERB, and the collapse of the government of three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
So far, six consecutive votes have not resulted in a stable government. Sunday’s vote came after Bulgaria’s political parties failed to agree to form a coalition government in an inconclusive June 9 election.
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov of the GERB party votes at a polling station in Sofia (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)
Voters are skeptical that Sunday’s election will end the political deadlock in one of the European Union’s poorest countries.
“I don’t think they will form a government,” Marin Kushev, 69, told Reuters after voting in the capital Sofia. “I don’t believe them (politicians).”
“We are fed up, that’s for sure,” Aneliya Ivanova, a 33-year-old IT worker, told AFP news agency. “We are tired of being stuck in a carousel that goes round and round, with the same outcome every time.”
An international Balkans Gallup poll released by Bulgarian state radio on Friday showed Borisov’s GERB party in first place with 26.1% of the vote, with two parties competing for second place.
The reformist PP (We Continue the Change) and the ultra-nationalist Restoration Party had 16.2% and 14.9%, respectively. The turnout in the same opinion poll was 31.1%.
The PP is losing support with each new snap vote. Meanwhile, Revival appears to have gained support from voters by proposing a law banning LGBTQ “propaganda” that was passed by a majority in Congress in August.
GERB also supported anti-LGBTQ legislation in August, paving the way for closer ties with the revival, but Borisov claimed that “our partners in Brussels and Washington will not allow it.”
Bulgaria needs a period of stable and well-functioning government to accelerate the flow of EU funds into infrastructure and promote euro adoption.
Plans to join the eurozone have already been postponed twice due to failure to reach the inflation target. Current accession plans are scheduled for January 25, 2025.
Political risk consultancy Teneo said Thursday that “a divided parliament and long-standing political rivalries will make it difficult to form a functional and stable government.”
“Prolonged political turmoil could increase voter disillusionment with mainstream parties that support populist, nationalist and pro-Russian groups,” it added.
