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Boyko Borisov, the Conservative leader who has led Bulgaria for much of the past 12 years, appeared to have been consigned to the opposition on Sunday after hard-fought parliamentary elections left him with no allies to form a government.
Borisov’s Gerb party came in first in the poll with 23.5%, according to Alfa Research polls. Gallup also placed the center-right party in first place with 22.1 percent.
The anti-establishment party There Is Such a People (ITN), led by singer and TV presenter Slavi Trifonov, came in shortly after with 22% of the vote, according to estimates.
Democratic Bulgaria, another so-called protest party, was predicted to win 14.1%, as would the Socialists with 14.1%. The anti-graft Stand! Mafia out! party, the smallest member of the protest trio, was in the process of winning 4%, the threshold for entering parliament.
Analysts said that once the votes cast abroad were counted, ITN could emerge as the largest party. However, Bulgaria, the poorest EU member state, is probably heading for an unstable government, if not a political paralysis. Parliament will be divided between established parties, including Borisov’s Gerb and his Socialist opponents, and three anti-establishment protest parties, including ITN.
Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, leader of the Gerb party, speaks to the media in front of a polling station in Sofia © VASSIL DONEV / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
It is very unlikely that Borisov will be able to form a government because the other parties have promised not to work Gerb. But protest parties have no votes to govern alone and are reluctant to team up with the Socialists or the Turkish MRP minority, who they believe have perpetuated a corrupt political system.
“We are nowhere, politically, because the so-called protest parties did not have enough votes to form an autonomous government or even together,” said Hristo Ivanov, leader of the liberal Yes Yes Bulgaria, which is part of Bulgaria’s alliance. Democratic. FT after the exit polls are published.
“The result translates into 110-115 MPs, but I don’t expect anything further,” Ivanov said. “And for most, you need at least 122. It is a very difficult situation in which new elections cannot be called again ”.
Trifonov, a popular folk-rock singer, remained silent during the campaign about his plans, confusing his potential coalition partners. Bulgarians know little about what their ITN party represents or about their new representatives in parliament. Ivanov has described his potential coalition partner as a “black box.”
Borisov oversaw some economic development, including infrastructure upgrades, but has not been able to shake up the persistent allegations of grafting, which boiled last year in protests with a duration of several months.
According to various opposition analysts and politicians, the protests eroded Gerb’s support and made him “untouchable” for political partners.
“Young people continue to go abroad. Corruption stifles any business initiative. Something has to change, “engineer Nikolay Galabov, 38, told Reuters after voting in Sofia.
In an interview last week, the former prime minister dismissed the graft claims as unfounded and said the opposition was pushing the agenda of a left-wing “mafia”.
Sunday’s vote was a repeat of the inconclusive elections in early April, which did not produce a government. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a staunch opponent of Borisov, appointed an interim administration. Despite not having a democratic mandate, he devoted himself to cleaning up the public administration, reviewing recruitment procedures, and firing officials deemed corrupt.
“Once the people saw Borisov out of power, they did not see a suitable proposal for a new government in the political market,” Ivanov said, noting the low turnout.
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