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Bulgarians vote in third election this year in bid to break deadlock

14 November 2021 05:48 (UTC +04:00)

Bulgarians vote on Sunday in their third parliamentary election this year, with opinion polls pointing to another inconclusive result that could hamper efforts to tackle high energy prices, a jump in COVID-19 cases and widespread corruption, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Another failure to break a prolonged political impasse and forge a functioning cabinet in the European Union's poorest member state could also potentially slow plans for the country to adopt the euro by 2024.

An election for the largely ceremonial post of president will also be held on Sunday. Polls show incumbent Rumen Radev, 58, is poised to win re-election for a second five-year term after a likely run-off vote on Nov. 21.

Bulgaria has been gripped by political uncertainty since April, when an election ended the decade-long rule of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his centre-right GERB party following massive anti-graft protests against him last year.

Policy differences and rivalry prevented his opponents, the so-called parties of change, from forging a ruling coalition after the April election and another ballot in July.