With 93.2% of votes counted from Sunday’s election, the center-right GERB–SDS is well ahead with 26.3% of the vote. Second is the PP–DB party with 14.79%, while Revival is positioned third with 13.46%.
This puts GERB–SDS in an unassailable position but at the same time it will need a coalition partner if it wants to form a government.
Sunday’s vote was the seventh general election in three years and numerous governments have come and gone in recent years. Turnout was a better-than-expected 38%.
Speaking on Monday morning, Boyko Borissov, the GERB–SDS leader, said that his party “will work with anyone except Revival.”
His words will alleviate fears in Bulgaria that Revival could be given seats in a coalition government.
The party has called for a “foreign agents law” similar to that enforced in Russia and has called for a referendum on NATO membership.
GERB–SDS, however, could struggle to find a willing partner among the chasing pack. The party emerged from the last general election in June with a similar percentage of the vote but failed to strike a coalition agreement. The assorted other parties also failed to form an administration, which precipitated Sunday’s election.
There are now fears that Bulgaria could go through the same turmoil, which would prolong a lengthy period of political instability.
“The situation now is more complicated than it was in June because there are nine parties expected to enter parliament. This will make politics even more fragmented and make it very difficult to form a government,” Nadezhda Neynsky, a former Bulgarian foreign minister, told TVP World.
“This could push the country into chaos and have political and economic consequences,” she added, explaining that instability could undermine the democratic institutions needed to tackle issues such as corruption.
More turmoil and the prospect of more elections could also fuel the radicalization of Bulgarian politics as voters turn away from the mainstream parties that have failed to provide the stability and coherent policies the country needs.
