Bulgaria's GERB-UDF leads polls with 24.5% support ahead of snap vote

Bulgaria will hold on Sunday early general election, together with elections for members of European Parliament.

The GERB-UDF coalition led by former prime minister Boyko Borissov will be backed by 24.7% of respondents, while 15.4% will vote for WCC-DB, according to the results of a survey by Market Links polling agency, commissioned by private broadcaster bTV.

In 2023, WCC-DB and GERB-UDF entered into a power-sharing deal which fell apart earlier this year.

The survey, conducted among 1,004 respondents of voting age between May 23 and June 2, shows that six political formations are likely to enter Bulgaria's next parliament.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which draws support mainly from Bulgarian ethnic Turk population, ranks third with 12.3% support.

According to the Market Links poll, the staunchly nationalist and pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party will be backed by 11.1% of respondents, followed by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) with 7.5%.

The populist party There is Such a People (TISP), led by musician and showman Slavi Trifonov, is the only other formation poised to cross the 4% threshold to enter parliament, according to the Market Links poll.

The survey also shows an increase in voter turnout, with 48.3% of the respondents planning to vote in the general elections and 47.4% in the elections for members of European Parliament.

Additionally, the poll indicates higher support for the leading coalitions in the European Parliament elections, with GERB-UDF expected to receive 25.1% of votes for MEPs and WCC-DB set to get 17.6%. DPS, Vazrazhdane and BSP are seen to secure 10.8%, 9.9% and 7.6% of the vote, respectively. TISP will likely not garner enough votes to have a representative in the European Parliament.

According to a separate survey conducted by pollster Mediana among 990 Bulgarians of voting age a few days earlier, GERB-UDF will come out on top with 28.6% of voter support in the general elections, followed by Vazrazhdane with 14.9% and DPS with 13.5%. According to the Mediana poll, WCC-DB will come in fourth with 12.9%, while both BSP and TISP are set to enter the next parliament, gathering 8.6% and 6.3% support, respectively.