Parliamentary election in Bulgaria: Narrow lead for populist ITN

In the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, the populist party ITN emerged as the winner. Party leader Trifonov announced that he wanted to form a minority government – and thereby astonished the other parties.

One day after the early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, a narrow victory of the populist party “There is such a people” (ITN) of the media entrepreneur and entertainer Slavi Trifonov is in sight. As the state electoral commission announced after counting almost 99 percent of the votes from within Germany and 82 percent from abroad, the ITN is 23.9 percent of the votes – and thus wafer-thinly ahead of the right-wing national GERB party of the former Prime Minister Boyko Borissow, the 23.7 percent could unite.

Even before the announcement of this interim result, Trifonov announced his claim to want to form a minority government in a video message broadcast on his own TV station in the morning. Trifonov’s party was only founded last year as part of the protest movement against the then Borissov government.

ITN does not want a coalition with the GERB

“As we have said repeatedly, the ITN will not form a coalition with GERB, the socialists and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms,” Trifonov said. The other so-called protest parties failed to achieve a parliamentary majority of 121 seats to form a stable government, Trifonov continued. “In this case, ‘There is such a people’ will not form a coalition with any party, but will take sole responsibility for forming a government.”

Trifonov declared that he wanted to appoint a cabinet of experts and at the same time presented his candidates for the respective departments. He also announced investments in health care and road construction, in the construction of kindergartens and the digitization of schools.

Trifonov wants to strengthen the role of parliament

The 51-year-old Trifonov, who had not previously held a political mandate, said he wanted to strengthen the role of parliament again. “In recent years Parliament has been crushed, marginalized and humiliated.” Referring to ex-Prime Minister Borisov’s campaign style, he continued: “Bulgaria was a prime ministerial republic ruled out of a jeep, and the money of all of us was figuratively thrown out of the jeep without parliamentary control . ” Now parliament could regain its dignity and there would be no forgiveness for those who broke the law.

By the afternoon hours, not a single party that had been elected to parliament commented on Trifonov’s intentions – apparently an expression of clear astonishment. Because the state president gives the order to form a government – and this only after the official final result is available, which is expected for Thursday. Yesterday’s parliamentary elections were the second in three months because a governing coalition had not been formed.