Bulgarian Election

The parliamentary election campaign in Bulgaria has been a fierce one. The ruling Socialist party has attacked the opposition center-right GERB in particularly vicious television advertisements. A few weeks before the election, the government also changed voting rights in its favour. This could be a last-ditch attempt to stay in power, with opinion polls predicting a change.

Bulgaria is currently governed by a coalition made up of Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev's Socialist Party and two junior partners: the Movement for Rights and Freedom, a party representing Bulgaria's Turkish minority; and the National Movement formed by the former tsar of Bulgaria.

Many Bulgarians blame the coalition for the country's widespread corruption, the misappropriation of millions in aid money from the European Union, and the ire of Brussels. These are the factors that will likely see voters turn away from the governing parties.

"The new government will probably try to send a few high-profile people to prison as a result of corruption allegations," says Georgi Ganev, an economist at Sofia's Centre for Liberal Strategies.

"That's why the election campaign has been fought so hard."

50 euros for a vote

But corruption in Bulgaria may have even entered the ballot booth. During the recent European parliamentary elections, there were allegations that voters were bought on a large scale. Watchdogs are concerned that this type of manipulation may continue in the national election.

Tihomir Beslov from Bulgaria's Centre for Democratic Research says votes can be bought for between 50 and 150 euros. He says that kind of money can support a family in one of Bulgaria's poorer regions for two or three months.

"An entire company's employees could also be pressured by their bosses to vote for a particular party," Beslov says.

"For example, Muslims would be forced to swear before Allah that they would vote for the party representing the Turkish minority."

"Bulgarians want justice"

The party likely to win the most votes in Sunday's election is the center-right GERB, led by Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov. The party has promised to fight corruption, and GERB member Maria Nedelcheva recently told the European Parliament that Bulgarians wanted justice.

"They expect criminal convictions and they want criminal proceedings to finally be launched against those responsible," Nedelcheva said.

"We are determined to do that."

But even GERB is not expected to win an outright majority. Experts believe that disillusioned Bulgarians may not turn up to polling booths at all.

A recent opinion poll showed GERB grabbing just over 30 percent of the vote, while the ruling Socialists are predicted to take just over 20 percent.

With no one party likely to win a majority, another coalition for Bulgaria looks likely - talks that could drag on for months.

Author: Simone Boecker / Clare Atkinson
Editor: Kateri Jochum