Sofia – Former prime minister Boyko Borisov declared victory for his GERB party after Sunday’s snap parliamentary election and said he was looking to swiftly put a government in place.
“A few months ago, we acted morally and resigned. Now we assessed our support and the outcome categorically demonstrated that we should lead the government,” Borisov told reporters in Sofia.
According to projections based on exit polls carried out by multiple agencies, GERB won more than 32 per cent of the vote.
Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova conceded defeat, but said that her party would attempt to form a governing coalition if GERB fails to muster a majority in parliament.
Borisov wants to keep EU and NATO member state Bulgaria firmly turned toward Western allies.
The BSP, which collected around 28 per cent of the votes, had promised closer ties with Moscow and opposition to EU trade sanctions against Russia.
Now set to return to the office of the prime minister for the third time since 2009, Borisov’s hope for quick coalition talks may be complicated by the fragmented parliament which seems to be emerging.
According to still unconfirmed results, three smaller parties have definitely qualified to take seats by winning at least 4 per cent of the votes and a fourth is right on the threshold.
The Party for Rights and Freedoms of ethnic Turks is now third with 9.7 per cent, the rightist United Patriots bloc has 9.5, newcomers Volya (Will) has 5.1 and GERB allies, the Reformist Bloc, is right on the edge with 4 per cent.
The projected outcome seems to leave Bulgaria – a former Communist Soviet Bloc country, but NATO and EU member since 2004 and 2007 – on its present course.
The fragmented parliament without a dominant winner and with the volatile Patriots probably holding the key to a governing coalition, however, makes no promise of stability.
A diplomatic row between Bulgaria and neighbouring Turkey over the status of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria overshadowed the last week of the campaign and raised tensions in some polling stations.
After casting his ballot, Borisov said “we will talk a lot about Turkey in the next few days.”
“A lot of things have to be done by Europe and by Turkey,” he added. “Compromises must be made as well in order to maintain peace and calm. Such a tone of voice and such actions are fatal for Bulgaria. They are a big power and we are on their frontier.”
The elections were triggered two years early when Borisov quit in November following the loss of GERB’s presidential candidate to Rumen Radev, a former air force general backed by the BSP.
In 2013, Borisov also cut his first term short, succumbing to pressure of nationwide protests against his cabinet’s austerity measures.
A caretaker cabinet took over in late January, shortly after Radev was inaugurated and in position to dissolve the parliament and schedule the elections.
