SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 2 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria will hold early general elections on Sunday, three months after the country's Socialist-led government resigned.
The cabinet of prime minister Plamen Oresharski resigned in July after its junior ally, the ethnic Turks' Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), called for early general elections, saying the results of the recent elections for members of the European Parliament - in which the Socialists suffered a crushing defeat - had created a new political reality in the country.
In August president Rosen Plevneliev dissolved parliament and appointed a caretaker government headed by Georgi Bliznashki to run the country until the elections.
Bulgaria was scheduled to hold regular general elections in 2017.
In the previous parliament, centre-right GERB had 97 MPs, the Socialists controlled 84 seats, the MRF had 36 and ultra nationalist Ataka had 23 MPs.
According to a survey conducted by Alpha Research polling agency in September, six political parties and coalitions are set to cross the threshold for entry into parliament.
GERB enjoys highest public support, 34.1%, which, however, would be insufficient for the party to govern alone, the survey showed. The Bulgarian Socialist Party is backed by 19.1%, followed by MRF with 15.4%. Bulgaria without Censorship, led by former TV anchor Nikolay Barekov has 6.0% support, as much as the Reformists Bloc - a coalition of rightist parties. The nationalist alliance Patriotic Front is supported by 4.2%.
KEY CONTENDERS:
- Centre-right GERB party, led by former prime minister Boyko Borisov
- The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
- The ethnic Turks’ Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF)
- Bulgaria without Censorship, led by former TV anchor Nikolay Barekov
- The Reformists Bloc - a coalition of rightist parties
- The Patriotic Front - a nationalist alliance
KEY FACTS ABOUT THE VOTE:
- To enter the 240-seat National Assembly a party or a coalition should win over 4.0% of the votes.
- Polling stations open at 6 a.m. local time (0500 CET) on Sunday and close at 7 p.m. (1800 CET).
- The National Assembly is elected for a four-year term.
- The members of parliament are elected by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies. Voters have the right to note a preference for a certain candidate in the candidate list.
- Bulgarian citizens aged 18 and over are eligible to vote.