Sofia, Bulgaria –
An exit poll in Bulgaria on Sunday suggested that former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s centre-right GERB party, a party accused of presiding over years of corruption, will be the likely winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections.
Polling by Gallup International showed the GERB party garnering 24.6 percent support, apparently outperforming former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s pro-Western reform party, which is expected to garner 18.9 percent. Still, the predicted percentage will not be enough for Borissov’s party to form a one-party government, and the chances of a GERB-led coalition are slim.
The exit poll also predicted that eight parties could pass the 4 percent threshold to enter a fragmented parliament with populist and pro-Russian groups showing higher gains.
The European Union nation’s fourth election in 18 months was marked by bitter warfare, political instability and economic hardship in the bloc’s poorest member. Low turnout reflected voter apathy.
Petkov admitted defeat on Sunday night.
“We lost the election, albeit by a small margin, and now the GERB has the responsibility to form a coalition and run the country,” he said.
It could be days before the final official results are announced. If they confirm the exit poll, Borisov will receive a mandate to form his fourth cabinet. However, it will be an uphill task for him to produce a stable governing coalition, as most political groups have rejected in advance any cooperation with his GERB party, which he presided over years of corruption that hampered development.
The snap election came after a fragile Petkov-led coalition lost a no-confidence motion in June. He later claimed that Moscow had used “hybrid warfare” tactics to topple his government after it refused to pay gas bills in rubles and ordered the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Bulgaria.
The deputy head of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Vessela Cherneva, said that the expected outcome could produce two types of coalitions: an anti-corruption coalition, in which Borissov’s GERB would find no place, or a geopolitical coalition of centrist parties, which that it would be possible only if Borissov resigns from leading his party.
“The scenario where there is no possible coalition would undermine parliamentary democracy in Bulgaria and further tilt the balance towards the pro-Russian president (Rumen) Radev,” Cherneva said.
After casting his vote on Sunday, Borissov told reporters that Bulgaria needs to take a clear position on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“With this aggression, with this war with a clear aggressor against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin – (I have) nothing against the Russian people – with this farce with the referendums, Bulgaria must be very clear, categorical and precise. about her place in the European Union and NATO,” he said.
He said bringing Bulgaria into Europe’s 19-nation shared currency eurozone should be the most important task of the next government.
Petkov promised to continue efforts to root out corruption, but the European energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war against Ukraine was the dominant economic issue for voters.
Many Bulgarians share pro-Russian sentiments, providing fertile ground for the Kremlin’s aggressive propaganda in the Balkan country.
The pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party, tapping into those sentiments, captured 10.2 percent of the vote, down from 4.9 percent in the previous election, the exit poll predicted.
Contrary to the position taken by the EU, which completely condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia for it, Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov urged Bulgaria for “total neutrality” in the war.