Borisov, again?

Boyko Borisov and the leaders of the main parties: Kornelia Ninova (BSP), Hristo Ivanov (DB) and Kiril Petkov (PP). On the door: National Insurance Institute. Newly retired.

On 2 October, Bulgarians elected the members of the National Assembly in early general elections. To no one’s surprise, Boyko Borisov’s party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB, centre-right), came out ahead, with 24.5% of votes (67 seats over 240).

The Pro-Europe GERB are therefore overtaking their main adversaries as former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s party, We Continue the Change (PP, centre), will only have garnered 19.5% (53 seats) of the vote. This election, the fourth in two years, occurs against the backdrop of a political crisis and public fatigue in Bulgaria, after the downfall of the previous Petkov administration, the war in Ukraine and the surge in energy prices and consumer goods. With a turnout rate of less than 40%, these legislative elections serve as proof of public exhaustion in the poorest country in the EU.

Despite his previous ascent to power marked by endemic corruption, Borisov has once again managed to get ahead in the vote. However, the race is far from run. The GERB will now have to form a coalition around him – a complex task for a party that finds itself isolated in Parliament, the main parties having agreed to enter into negotiations with GERB on the condition that Borisov would not be part of the government.