The GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov (EPP) won convincingly the country’s early parliamentary elections and the European vote but the country registered its second lowest-ever turnout of 31.8%.
In terms of seat allocation in the European Parliament, GERB obtained the most seats for the EPP group, followed by The Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which obtained five seats for Renew. The Social Democrats only scored two seats, while the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane will send three MEPs to Brussels.
“No one achieves success without acknowledging the help of others. The confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. Thank you, GERB! Thank you also to all of you who supported us!” Borissov said on Facebook.
All Bulgarian political leaders announced that they would not speak on the evening of the elections but would wait for the final results on Monday.
On the national level, most political experts point to the formation of a government between GERB-SDS, MRF and the populist ITN, which will have just over 130 seats in the 240-seat national parliament.
The results are expected to change later in the evening, and with minimal margins, the key will be voting abroad, with data expected to start coming in after midnight.
“People are consciously choosing the people they trust,” said Boryana Dimitrova, a managing partner at the polling agency Alpha Research.
According to her, the parties have been good at galvanising their respective bases to vote
