In Bulgaria, which today hosted its fifth general election in two years, it is a neck-and-neck race between the two major political powers, pointing to new difficulties in finding a solid political majority and stable government. At the same time, the growing dissatisfaction of voters with turnout at an all-time low of 35% of eligible voters is confirmed, according to the first preliminary data. According to Gallup exit polls, the liberal Continue the Change (PP) party won 25.3% of the vote, whose leader Kiril Petkov resigned as prime minister of a disheartened coalition in parliament last June. The conservative party Gerb, the main opponent of the PP, would be in second place, but just behind, with 24.7%. Gerb, led by ex-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, has ruled the country for almost a decade in the past. An important but expected outcome of today’s vote concerns the continued rise of the nationalist party Vazrazhdane (Rebirth), which rose to 14.2% of the vote, taking it to third place. Its leader Kostadin Kostadinov is calling for a review of the conditions for Bulgaria’s EU membership, a referendum on the country’s membership in NATO and a “no” vote on joining the eurozone. The Turkish minority party Dps with 13.1 percent and the Socialists (Bsp) with 9.9 percent would also move into parliament – which provides for a 4 percent hurdle. The populist party Such a People There Is (ITN) would also enter parliament with 4% of the vote. In principle, the results of today’s deliberations, if confirmed by the official count of the central electoral commission, would see the same political formations in the unicameral parliament with 240 seats as in the previous elections, albeit with different percentages, strongly confirmed subsequent uncertainty and difficulty in forming a new governing majority. When the numbers come in, the PP will be forced to seek difficult alliances. Several analysts do not rule out a broad coalition between the PP and Gerb, albeit at the expense of their voter ratings. In fact, rumors have been circulating in the media in recent days that Bulgaria’s “partner countries” are insisting that the vicious cycle of early general elections be ended and that a regular government be formed at all costs. In any case, the new parliament and the possible new government face major and immediate challenges in dealing with the deep political and economic crisis that is hitting Bulgarians hard, including those caused by the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the economy Hardship is underlined and on energy prices. In recent days, authorities have officially announced annual inflation of 16.9%, but the value of the shopping cart would be much higher, close to 35% according to some economists. After Russian gas supplies stopped, heating and electricity bills have risen by about 30%, a burden difficult for most families in Bulgaria, which still lags behind the EU in terms of poverty and corruption .
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