Bulgarians head to polls to elect parliament for eighth time in 5 years
The early vote follows the resignation of the conservative-led government last December during protests that saw hundreds of thousands of mostly young people take to the streets across the country. Protesters called for an independent judiciary to combat widespread corruption.
Also read: Belgium will require online application for certain work permits from May 1
The country of 6.5 million has struggled since 2021 with fragmented parliaments that have produced weak governments; None of these managed to survive for more than a year before being overthrown by street protests or backroom deals in parliament.
The revolving door of governments has encouraged widespread public distrust, voter apathy, and declining voter turnout.
Still, Sunday’s vote is significant because it could bring to power a left-leaning, pro-Russian former president, just days after Hungarian voters rejected the authoritarian policies of Viktor Orban and the global far-right movement, who has developed close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The frontrunner, former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, leads the newly formed centre-left Progressive Bulgaria coalition. He resigned the mostly ceremonial presidency in January, a few months before the end of his second term, to begin his bid to lead the government as prime minister. The 62-year-old former fighter pilot and air force commander is seen as Bulgaria’s most popular politician and has vowed to give the country a fresh start. His supporters are divided between those who hope he will put an end to the country’s oligarchic corruption and those who have lined up behind his Eurosceptic and pro-Russian views.
Voting centers opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m., after which the first polls will be announced. Preliminary results are expected to be announced on Monday.
Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and NATO and joined the eurozone on January 1, shortly after entering the unrestricted Schengen travel area. But it has been plagued by political instability since 2021, when three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigned following mass protests fueled by anger at widespread corruption and injustice.
Radev portrays himself as a rival against the country’s entrenched mafia and its ties to top politicians. In his campaign rallies, he promised to “remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of government from political power.”
Although Radev has officially condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has repeatedly opposed military aid to Kiev and favored resuming negotiations with Russia as a way out of the conflict.
Opinion polls predict that Radev’s coalition could win more than 30 percent of the vote, putting it ahead of Radev’s closest rival, Borissov’s center-right GERB party, by almost 10 percent. It is stated that the margin of error in most surveys is between 3 and 3.5 percent.
