October 14 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian conservative ruling GERB party's presidential candidate, Tsetska Tsacheva, would win 19.2% of the vote, if elections were held now, which suggests a run-off would be needed, a new survey indicated on Friday.
The candidate of opposition Socialists, Rumen Radev, came second with 15.1% support, according to the results of the poll conducted by Gallup International Balkan among 998 people between October 4 and October 12.
Bulgaria will hold presidential elections on November 6.
The results of the poll suggest the next Bulgarian president would have to be elected in a run-off vote, if elections were held now, Gallup International Balkan said.
The outcome will depend on many unknowns, including the option to support none of the candidates, the impact of the referendum on changes to the Bulgarian voting system that will take place alongside the vote for president, and the disputed mandatory nature of voting, the opinion polling agency said.
The votes of supporters of opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), estimated at around 6% of the total, will be decisive, according to Gallup International.
Krassimir Karakachanov, nominated by the Patriotic Front (PF) and Ataka nationalist parties, would receive 7.2% in the first round if elections were held now. The PF lends support in parliament to the coalition government led by Boyko Borisov but have no cabinet ministers.
The candidates of right-wing Reformist Bloc (RB), Traycho Traykov, and left-wing Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV), Ivaylo Kalfin had around 5% support each in the poll. The RB is the junior partner of GERB in the government coalition.
The share of those who would choose the option to vote for none of the candidates is estimated at around 4%, Gallup International Balkan said.
Around 20% of all voters have not decided whether they will vote or what their choice will be, with most of them DPS supporters.
The referendum on changes to the country's voting system, which will be held simultaneously with the vote for president, was initiated by television talk show host Slavi Trifonov.
Support for Rumen Radev in a hypothetical run-off would be 29.6%, while 26.4% of the respondents would vote for Tsetska Tsacheva, Gallup International Balkan said.