Bulgaria is electing a new parliament for the fourth time in 18 months. The party of pro-European Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who was ousted in June, is defeated by the Conservatives of the other ex-Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov. Complicated coalition negotiations are now ahead.
The conservative party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has become the strongest force after the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria. According to initial forecasts, Borisov’s Gerb party will get 23 to 25 percent of the votes. The newly founded party “We continue the change” (PP) of the liberal Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who was ousted in June, receives 19 to 20 percent.
Petkow admitted his defeat in the evening. The voters gave Borisov a mandate to form a government, Petkov said. He ruled out a coalition with Gerb.
Before the polls closed, Borissov said he was open to talks with “all parties.” A potential coalition partner for the 63-year-old would be the party of the Turkish minority MDL, which according to the partial results has 15 percent. Two pro-Russian parties are also around 15 percent each. However, no clear coalition is emerging in the fragmented parliament.
“The situation is the same, if not more complicated than after the last election,” said political scientist Daniel Smilow from the Center for Liberal Strategies political institute on BTV. The director of the Alpha Research Institute, Borjana Dimitrova, predicted “long negotiations”.
The Bulgarians elected a new parliament on Sunday for the fourth time in 18 months. Petkov was overthrown by a vote of no confidence in June after only seven months in office. Borisov was voted out in April 2021 after allegations of corruption.
This time, the election campaign in the poorest EU member state was not dominated by the issue of corruption, but by the Ukraine war and uncertain gas supplies. Bulgaria is historically and culturally closely linked to Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused deep divisions in the country of 6.5 million people. While Borisov tried not to jeopardize relations with the EU, Russia and Turkey, Petkov took a clear pro-European stance during the election campaign.
