MPs have so far made four attempts to elect a speaker since October 27’s snap election but no candidate has managed to garner the support needed to get the post.

The continuing impasse could lead to the paralysis of parliament and, possibly, another general election.

The country also has no new government following October’s election owing to an inconclusive result in which no party managed to secure a majority.

“The risks of a parliamentary crisis turning into a constitutional crisis are really too high,” Iliana Iotova, the vice president, said on Thursday, adding that she hoped another attempt to elect a speaker, scheduled for Friday, will succeed, although few expect this to happen.

“I don’t recall being confronted by a crisis as big as this one,” she said.

The prospect of yet another election will probably come as unwelcome news to Bulgarians.

October’s vote was the seventh in three years and prolonged a period of political instability that has seen successive governments come and go with none of them tackling issues blighting the country, such as corruption.

There are also warnings that the instability and the political infighting amongst Bulgaria’s numerous parties could undermine public faith in democratic institutions, which could open the door to populist and anti-establishment parties.