Double election in Bulgaria: Anti-corruption party narrowly ahead

A close race is emerging in the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria. According to forecasts, the newly founded anti-corruption party is just ahead. In the presidential election taking place at the same time, head of state Radew leads.

In the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, a possible victory of a newly founded anti-corruption party is looming. As emerged from a forecast by the polling institute Gallup International after the closing of the polling stations, the party “We are continuing the change” (PP) got 25.8 percent of the vote. It was therefore the strongest force and was more than two percentage points ahead of the center-right GERB party of long-time Prime Minister Boyko Borissow.

According to the opinion research institute Alpha Research, PP received 26.1 percent of the vote; Bulgarian media even saw the party at 26.3 percent and GERB at only 23.1.

According to the forecast, five other parties made it into parliament. The socialists came third with 14.4 percent, followed by the MRF, which represents the ethnic Turks, with 10.2 percent. The protest party “There is such a people” (ITN) won 8.1 percent of the vote, followed by the liberal anti-corruption party “Democratic Bulgaria” with 7.0 percent and the “Nationalist Rebirth” with 4.3 percent .

Third choice within one year

It was the third parliamentary election in Bulgaria this year. In the two votes in April and July, no party was able to secure sufficient support for the formation of a stable government.

If the victory of the PP is confirmed, the entrepreneurs Kiril Petkow and Assen Wassilew would be commissioned to form a government. Both were Harvard graduates and ministers of finance and economics, and served together in the previous interim administration. With the PP you had promised a rigorous fight against corruption and bribery.

You want to sound out a cooperation with all your strength that took part in the anti-corruption protests against Borisov last year. “I voted for the change to continue,” said Petkov. “I voted because I believe Bulgaria can achieve more.”

Politically divided country

The prognoses highlighted the deep political division in Bulgaria after a decade under the Borisov government. The country is battling a surge in coronavirus cases and high energy costs. In addition, many citizens are angry about the widespread corruption in the country.

Analysts had said in the run-up to the recent election that Borisov would probably not find any allies for a coalition. Political differences and rivalries have so far prevented his political opponents from doing so.

Election of the president

At the same time as the parliamentary elections, those eligible to vote in Bulgaria also voted on a new head of state. Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radew clearly won the first round of the presidential election with a good 49 percent of the vote. This emerges from a Gallup forecast based on voter surveys after the vote.

In second place is the rector of Sofia University, Anastas Gerdschikow, with 25 percent of the votes. This is supported by the former ruling bourgeois GERB of ex-Prime Minister Boiko Borissow. Between Radew and Gerdschikow there must now be a runoff election next Sunday. This will be necessary because Radew could not unite more than half of the votes. Two other polling institutes, Alpha Research and Trend, released similar predictions for the outcome of the presidential election.

Little interest in elections

Around 6.7 million Bulgarians were eligible to vote. According to the election commission, the turnout was less than 37 percent. On the one hand, not a few are likely to have been tired of voting, on the other hand, the number of new corona infections has recently risen rapidly, so that voters probably refrained from taking part in the vote for fear of infection.