Bulgaria’s April elections: Borissov’s coalition has largest share of votes – exit poll
Boiko Borissov’s GERB-Union of Democratic Forces electoral coalition got 25.7 per cent of the votes in Bulgaria’s April 4 2021 parliamentary elections, according to an exit poll by the Alpha Research agency, the results of which were announced just as voting ended in Bulgaria at 8pm.
According to Alpha Research’s exit poll, Kornelia Ninova’s Bulgarian Socialist Party got 17.6 per cent.
In third place was the party formed around cable television presenter Slavi Trifonov, at 15.2 per cent.
Fourth was the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, 11 per cent, fifth Hristo Ivanov’s Democratic Bulgaria coalition, 10.4 per cent, and sixth was the Maya Manolova-Poison Trio formation, 4.2 per cent.
Alpha Research saw Krassimir Karakachanov’s ultra-nationalist VMRO as precisely at the four per cent threshold to win seats in Bulgaria’s 45th National Assembly.
The Central Election Commission has until April 8 to announce final official results and until April 11 to announce which candidate MPs have been elected.
For a government to be voted into office, it must have the support of at least 121 of the 240 members of the National Assembly.
Borissov’s party will fall considerably short of that mark and, going by the exit polls, would need to draw in partners to build a ruling majority.
If Borissov fails to achieve this, next to have a chance at trying would be Ninova, as the leader of the party with the second-largest share of votes.
Should Ninova fail, the constitution gives the President a free hand as to whom to offer the third mandate. Should that third attempt fail, Parliament will be dissolved, a caretaker government appointed, and Bulgaria would proceed to fresh elections two months after the 45th National Assembly is dismissed.
The April 2021 elections were Bulgaria’s first in more than a decade to be held after a National Assembly served out its full four-year term.
Ahead of the elections, the Health Ministry issued a protocol intended to ensure that the elections were conducted in a way that would not aggravate the spread of Covid-19.
Election day passed largely peacefully, with some allegations of vote-buying and problems with voting machines in some places, and with voter turnout only slightly down compared with the 2017 parliamentary elections.
The Sofia’s Globe factfile about Bulgaria’s April 2021 National Assembly elections may be found at this link.
Please support independent journalism by clicking on the orange button below. For as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies, you can support The Sofia Globe via patreon.com and get access to exclusive subscriber-only content:
