Bulgaria’s Gerb, There Are Such People in tight race for first place in July 11 election

Bulgaria’s Gerb, There Are Such People in tight race for first place in July 11 election
Former prime minister Boyko Borissov's Gerb and popular showman Slavi Trifonov's There Are Such People have almost equal support ahead of the July 11 snap general election.
By Denitsa Koseva in Sofia May 20, 2021

Bulgaria’s Gerb party, which led the country for a decade, and popular showman Slavi Trifonov's newly formed There Are Such People have almost equal support ahead of the July 11 snap general election, a poll carried out by Gallup International showed.

While Gerb still holds the first place with 22.8%, it is losing support compared to the April 4 general election when it took 26% of the votes. At the same time, There Are Such People, which remains second, is gaining more support compared to the April vote – 20.1% compared to around 17% previously.

The other newcomer to the previous parliament, reformist Democratic Bulgaria, is also increasing its support, ranking fourth with 11.6% (up from around 9% in April) after the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which remains third with 16.1%.

The ethnic-Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) would get 11.2%, putting it in fifth place. The party came fourth in April, ahead of Democratic Bulgaria.

The third new political establishment that passed the 4% threshold in April, Stand up! Thugs out!, will make it to parliament once again, gaining 5.6% of the votes.

The poll shows that the three new political formations would again fail to get a stable majority. Following the April 4 vote, There Are Such People gave up trying to form a government, saying it lacks enough partners in parliament for majority. All the political parties in the parliament were willing to support Trifonov for a ruling coalition, but the showman-turned-politician said his party could only find common ground with Democratic Bulgaria and Stand up! Thugs out!

The poll also showed that far-right parties such as VMRO, Volya, National Front for Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB) and Ataka might pass the 4% threshold if they unite for the July 11 vote. In April, none of these parties made it into the parliament.

57.9% of all respondents said they will definitely vote in July despite the vacation season, while 16.7% said they would most likely vote. Only 13.7% of people surveyed said they would definitely not vote, while 8.7% would rather not vote.

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