March 1 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's reformist We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB) coalition emerged with a slight lead of 1.2 percentage points ahead of its main rival, the centre-right GERB-SDS coalition, one month before the early general elections, a public opinion poll showed.
Bulgaria is due to hold general election, its fifth in two years, on April 2.
As many as 26.4% of all respondents determined to cast a ballot said they will back WCC-DB, compared to 25.2% who intend to vote for GERB-SDS, according to a poll by Sofia-based agency Alpha Research. The survey was conducted among 1,007 voting age citizens between February 21 and February 27, and the results were made public on Tuesday.
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which represents mainly Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish population, is supported by 13.2%, followed by nationalist, pro-Russian Vazrazhdane with 11.3%. The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has the backing of 7.4% of respondents sure to vote.
No other parties will cross the 4% threshold for entry into prliament, according to the poll.
As many as 39% of the respondents in the Alpha Research poll said they will certainly vote in the elections, while 33% said they will not and 28% remain undecided.
The neck-and-neck race between WCC-DB and GERB-SDS amid the likelihood of a repeated low voter turnout will make the task of forming a regular government as challenging as it was after the October vote, Alpha Research commented.
Bulgaria has been run by a caretaker government appointed by the president since August.
The poll found that 30% of respondents would decidedly not support a broad coalition between WCC-DB and GERB-SDS, with another 20% are inclined not to support it.
Another opinion poll conducted by the Mediana agency between February 19 and February 24 measured 24.6% support for GERB-SDS and 22.7% for WCC-DB.
Earlier in February, a poll conducted by Gallup International found that the new WCC-DB coalition enjoyed 27.1% of potential voter support, placing it just 1 percentage point ahead of GERB.