Bulgaria is hit by a violent corona wave - as is a permanent government crisis.
But the election in 2021 could come as a surprise.
Sofia - The parliamentary elections in Bulgaria * could end with a surprise: According to forecasts, the anti-corruption party “We continue the change” was in a head-to-head race with the conservative Gerb party of long-time head of government Boiko Borissow on Sunday evening.
Bulgaria election: predictions do not rule out a surprise - Borissov's GERB partly only in second place
According to information from Gallup International, the anti-corruption party, which was only founded in September by two former business people, was surprisingly ahead with 25.8 percent of the vote.
The bourgeois GERB of ex-Prime Minister Boiko Borissow ended up in second place with 23.5 percent.
However, this forecast was still based on voter surveys after voting.
Forecasts from two other polling institutes, Alpha Research and Trend, saw Borisov's GERB as the strongest force with 24.8 and 23.5 percent.
The anti-corruption party PP would then come to 24.1 and 22.5 percent.
The socialists who emerged from the former communists (BSP) would, according to forecasts, come in third place with around 14 percent.
The founders of the PP are Kiril Petkow and Assen Wassilew, two former businessmen and Harvard graduates.
Its goal of eradicating corruption recently gained support in the EU member state with the highest levels of corruption.
Up to seven parties are likely to overcome the four percent hurdle for entry into parliament.
Official interim results were not to be expected for the time being.
The election was overshadowed by the deadliest corona wave in the country to date.
Just over 23 percent of the 6.9 million Bulgarians are fully vaccinated, which is the lowest vaccination rate in the EU.
Bulgaria: Borisov's Gerb now before Aus?
Newcomers have a chance of taking on government responsibility
This is the third parliamentary election in Bulgaria this year.
The two previous polls in April and July each resulted in a fragmented parliament, so that neither party was able to form a stable government coalition.
Political scientist Antoni Todor from the New Bulgarian University told the AFP news agency before the election that he hoped "that the political leaders have learned their lesson and will negotiate".
For most of the other parties, Borisov is an “unacceptable” partner after the massive anti-corruption protests last year and numerous revelations about the misuse of public funds.
This would give the leaders of “We are continuing the change” a good chance of forming a coalition with other opposition parties.
Meanwhile, in the presidential election, head of state Rumen Radew has, according to forecasts, clearly won the first round with a good 49 percent of the vote.
Nevertheless, he has to go to a runoff against the second-placed Anastas Gerdschikow (25 percent), as he could not unite more than half of the votes.
(
AFP / dpa / fn
) *
Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
