Centre-right alliance wins parliamentary elections in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the pro-Western centre-right coalition of former Prime Minister Boiko Borissov won parliamentary elections on Sunday. In the fifth election in two years, GERB-SDS received 26.5 percent of the vote. This is evident from the provisional results of the Central Election Commission that were published on Monday after counting all election records.

The equally pro-Western liberal-conservative bloc PP-DB led by former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov comes second with 24.5 percent. On foreign policy, both major camps agree to support Ukraine in Russia’s war of aggression, including arms deliveries.

A total of six parties reached the four percent threshold to enter parliament. Among them again is the pro-Russian and nationalist Vazrashdane (Rebirth). With 14.1 percent, the party founded in 2014 became the third strongest political force for the first time. In the early parliamentary elections six months ago, she came fourth with 10.1 percent.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) of the Turkish minority (13.7 percent) and the socialists (8.9 percent) also entered the parliament in Sofia. Entertainer Slawi Trifonov’s populist ITN, which remained outside parliament after the previous elections in 2022, just managed to enter parliament with 4.1 percent.

With this balance of power, the formation of a new government is likely to become complicated, political scientists agree. The day after the election, it was still unclear whether a grand coalition could be formed. Top politicians from the best-ranked parties kept a low profile. As long as there is no regular government, the interim cabinet appointed by head of state Rumen Radew with a view to the new elections will continue to look after official affairs. (sda/dpa)