Political instability deepens in Bulgaria following elections

Script tour in Bulgaria. Despite the fact that the exit polls gave the conservative Boyko Borisov the winner of the elections on Sunday, this Monday, the Central Electoral Commission declared his rival from the anti-establishment party There is Such a People (ITN), the singer-songwriter Slavi Trifonov, as winner of the elections with 99% of ballots counted. The Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party, of former Prime Minister Borisov, obtained 23.6% of the votes while Trifonov reached 23.9% of the support, according to still provisional results. Given these results, it is foreseeable that the poorest country in the European Union will continue to be marked by instability, according to experts.

Bulgarians went to vote this Sunday for the second time in three months in a legislative election in the hope that the result of the elections would allow a stable coalition to be formed after a decade in Borisov's power.

The former prime minister led the results of the previous elections with 26% of the votes but, weakened by the demonstrations last year, he did not find partners to govern.

The exit polls gave him a slight advantage that has been squandered on Monday morning by the Electoral Commission.

The official results, however, will not be released until Thursday.

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Trifonov, 54, had made public his plans to try to form a minority Cabinet, which most political observers said was a risky move that put pressure on potential partners.

Arguing that a coalition government could encourage clandestine negotiation, he presented his list of priorities and ministers, appealing to all parties, including small parties, which have benefited from the growing disgust of the population with corruption, to provide support.

“It is time for everything to happen in front of your eyes [in a transparent way], in Parliament. Because this is what is moral, ”he said in a speech broadcast live from his small television channel. The ITN party would need the backing of traditional parties such as the Socialists or the MRF party, of Turkish ethnicity, to replace the current interim Cabinet of the conservative Boyko Borisov.

Borisov, 62, has been gradually losing popularity in the face of the almost daily avalanche of revelations about corruption that eats away at the poorest country in the European Union. He is also affected by the imposition of US sanctions on oligarchs, whom his detractors accuse him of having covered up. Although GERB, Borisov's formation, was finally in first place, "he will not govern", stressed on Sunday the political scientist Strahil Deliyski, because the other parties reject him. "What is at stake, therefore, is to know if the elections will lead to a government" that continues "the task started by the interim team" to "change" practices, said Antony Todorov, professor at the New Bulgarian university.

Given the instability of the situation, analysts are not ruling out the possibility of a third election being called, which means that Bulgaria may have difficulty taking advantage of the European Union's billion-euro coronavirus recovery package or approving its budget plans for 2022.