The Bulgarian GERB party is closely ahead in the national vote: Exit polls | Election news

Boyko Borissov’s former center-right GERB party and the new populist party were side by side in the exit polls.

No clear winner emerged from Sunday’s Bulgarian parliamentary elections, with polls showing that Boyko Borissov’s former center-right GERB center-right party is ahead of the new Anti-Elite Party (ITN).

Surveys by Gallup International and Alpha Research showed GERB between 22.1 percent and 23.5 percent, and ITN, led by well-known TV host and singer Slavi Trifonov, accounted for 21.5 to 22.3 percent of the election in Bulgaria. the second in three months.

The results of the exit polls highlight the deep divisions over the legacy of Borissov’s tenure, as Bulgaria is growing angry over widespread corruption, which is the poorest member of the European Union.

If the official results confirm that GERB is the largest party, the chances of forming a governing coalition are slim, political observers said.

GERB ran for first place in the April election, but was rejected by other parties.

ITN is better positioned, probably with the help of its partners, two small anti-corruption groups.

Weekly talks on the coalition or other elections are also possible today, which could make it difficult for Bulgaria to approve a € 1 billion coronavirus recovery package or 2022 budget plans.

If the blockade comes in other elections, “voters will get tired, support for democracy will be eroded,” Antony Todorov, a professor at the New University of Bulgaria, told AFP news agency that the beneficiaries will benefit.

But Boriana Dimitrov of the Alpha Research Institute told bTV that “parties realize that” voters are tired “and will make an effort to form a government.”