Bulgarians will vote on Sunday in their fifth general election in two years, a record within the European Union. The country’s political crisis, which began in 2020, has deepened amid the war in Ukraine. Bulgaria, a member of both the EU and NATO, maintains strong historical and cultural ties to Russia. Massive anti‑corruption rallies three years ago sparked a series of elections rather than the hoped‑for clean‑up of public life. Conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, whose decade in office was marred by graft allegations, lost power in 2021, but subsequent parties have struggled to form stable coalitions, leaving a fragmented parliament and a succession of interim governments.
“What if the results are the same as in previous legislative elections?” asked Silvia Radoeva, a 42‑year‑old care worker. “It’s high time that politicians united to deal with everyday problems,” she told AFP, citing “crazy prices, poverty and deplorable medical care.” Parvan Simeonov, a political analyst with Gallup International, added that “faced with war and inflation, Bulgarian society is crying out for a solution.” The fight against corruption has receded, leaving many 2020 protesters disillusioned.
The main contenders on Sunday’s ballot are the same as in recent elections. Polls place Borisov’s GERB party neck‑and‑neck with the reformist We Continue the Change (PP), led by Harvard‑educated Kiril Petkov, who briefly served as premier in 2022; both command roughly 25 % support. This time, PP has allied with the small right‑wing coalition Democratic Bulgaria. “We see the same pattern as in other Central European countries—a former leader who clings on and other parties that refuse to ally with him, without much else in common,” said Lukas Macek, associate researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute for Central and Eastern Europe. Macek warns that the “worrying spiral of elections” will continue unless Borisov steps aside.
Pro‑Russian sentiment also shapes the contest. “I fear the influence of pro‑Russian parties in the next parliament,” said Ognian Peychev, a 60‑year‑old engineer, during a recent anti‑war protest. The ultra‑nationalist Vazrazhdane party, which defends the Kremlin’s war, is projected to capture about 13 % of the vote, up from 10 % in the October election. The Socialist BSP, the successor to Bulgaria’s Communist Party, also aligns with Moscow and opposes sending weapons to Ukraine. Many Bulgarians still look eastward, revering Russia for ending five centuries of Ottoman rule in 1878. “Both Petkov and Borisov are too aggressively critical of Russia,” said Mariana Valkova, a 62‑year‑old entrepreneur who once worked in the Soviet Union. “I’d rather there wasn’t a government and President Rumen Radev remained in charge.”
President Radev, who has appointed interim cabinets after each inconclusive election, is perceived as pro‑Russian. He has denounced Petkov and his allies as “war mongers” and spoken against sending arms to Ukraine, even as Bulgaria’s munitions factories operate at full capacity to produce ammunition for export to Kyiv via third countries.
Polling stations open at 7:00 a.m. (04:00 GMT) on Sunday, and the first exit polls are expected after voting ends at 8:00 p.m. (17:00 GMT).
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