With this result, the party of Kirill Petkov and Asen Vasiliev ended in front of the conservative GERB of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. According to polling agencies, it will fail with 23 percent of the vote, and therefore should be scrapped. The first official results are not expected until Monday morning.
“Now is the time to show that Bulgaria has embarked on a path of change and that there is no turning back,” Petkov said on Sunday evening. He wants to form a coalition without the Borisov party. Petkov actually served as economy minister in a transitional government from May to September. He sees fighting corruption and reforming the justice system as his main goals.
third election
Bulgarians could already go to the polls for the third time this year on Sunday to form parliament. After the April and July elections, it proved impossible to form a majority government. Many Bulgarians did not vote this time. Turnout is estimated at 40 percent. The Electoral Commission spoke of a record low.
At the same time, there was also the first round of the presidential election. As expected, this led to the victory of outgoing President Rumen Radev. However, he will not manage to get an absolute majority behind him, which means that the second round should take place in a week. The president has a ceremonial role in Bulgaria as head of state and commander-in-chief of the army.
