Conservatives top Bulgarian elections but fall short of majority

SOFIA, Bulgaria: The party of conservative former premier Boyko Borisov once again came first in Bulgaria´s general elections, exit polls showed on Sunday, but fell short of a majority that would put an end to the country´s political turmoil.

In the seventh such vote in four years, Borisov´s GERB party repeated its performance in the previous ballot last June by winning between 25 and 27 percent of the vote, according to the polls.

Reformist coalition PP-DB followed with around 15 percent, while the pro-Russia ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party came third, gaining around 13 percent of the ballots. The European Union´s poorest member country has been at a standstill since 2020, when massive anti-corruption protests brought down Borisov´s cabinet.

Six consecutive votes since then have failed to yield a stable government, an impasse that has favoured the country´s far right. “The people want a government, stability, and security,” Borisov said as he voted, wearing jeans and a black jacket.

But there is a high chance that GERB will yet again struggle to find partners to govern in the country´s extremely fragmented parliament, where seven to nine parties are expected to be represented.

Compared to the last election, voter turnout appeared to have slightly increased to 35 percent one hour before the polls closed. In June, turnout plummeted to just 34 percent -- the lowest since the end of communism.

According to a recent opinion poll, about 60 percent of Bulgarians surveyed view the political deadlock as “extremely alarming”. On the streets of the capital Sofia, the rising voter apathy was palpable.

“We´re fed up, that´s for sure,” said Aneliya Ivanova. “We´re tired of being stuck in a carousel that goes round and round, and every time it´s the same result,” the 33-year-old IT worker told AFP.

The political impasse -- which is unprecedented since 1989 -- has also favoured the Vazrazhdane party. “Bulgaria must remain an independent country, without outside interference,” the group´s president Kostadin Kostadinov said, referring to Brussels and the United States.

Vazrazhdane appears to have gained influence after proposing a law banning LGBTQ “propaganda” that was passed by a large majority in parliament in August. The legislation was directly inspired by a similar law in Russia, and even though Bulgaria is a NATO member, many citizens remain strongly pro-Russian.