Bulgarians go to the polls on Sunday October 27 for the seventh legislative election in three years. The government is greatly destabilized by the intransigence of the parties who cannot agree to form a government. In addition to the multiple divisions that fragment the political space, voter fatigue worries many. Five months ago, only 34% of them turned out to vote, the lowest level since the fall of communism 35 years ago.
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With our correspondent in Sofia, Damian Vodenicharov
This is unheard of: seven legislative elections three yearsor even nine elections if we take into account the municipal and presidential elections. Participation rates are at their lowest, sociologists expect a figure of around 30%.
However, the Parliament with seven parties represented could further crumble, with eight groups, or even nine. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which has a virtual monopoly on the Muslim vote, split in two after an internal struggle between the party’s bigwigs. The far right is also far from forming a united front, with a new party from nowhere, Grandeurwhich overshadows the other pro-Russians, the veterans of Renaissance.
The Socialist Party is experiencing a serious identity crisis which has cost it 8% in three years, while new parties have appeared. Even the reformist right is no longer as united as when it took to the streets against Prime Minister Boyko Borissov three years ago. This one remains the least affected by this deluge of elections. His GERB party is often in first place with 24-25%.
Finding partners to form a stable majority and appoint a government is proving much more complicated. The few coalitions that have emerged have been ephemeral. For Romain Le Quiniou, director of the Euro Créative think tank on central and eastern Europe, this blockage can be explained by “ strong, divisive personalities » which make up the political parties.
The simplest explanation is to say that these political parties are reluctant to compromise. These are political parties which generally, for the most part in any case, are formed around strong, divisive personalities, who have difficulty coexisting within the same governments. So we have a problem forming coalitions. And once coalitions are formed, they quickly fall apart. So we start again with an electoral cycle. This is problematic.
In Bulgaria, “political parties are disinclined to compromise”, because “made up around strong, divisive personalities”, analyzes Romain Le Quiniou, of the Euro Créative think tank