SOFIA, April 4. /TASS/. Bulgarian citizens on Sunday elect their representatives to the 45th National Assembly, the country’s parliament.
At 07:00 local time, about 12,000 polling stations open in the country, where about 6.7 mln people will be able to vote by 8:00 pm. Another 465 polling stations are to open in 66 countries.
Over 3,400 observers will closely monitor the voting process, and employees of five sociological agencies intend to work on preparing the exit polls.
Due to the fact that elections are being held amid the pandemic, the closest attention is paid to the safety of members of election commissions and voting citizens. Observance of social distance, wearing protective masks and disinfection are mandatory. Persons with symptoms of cold will not be admitted to polling stations. Members of the visiting commissions who will work in hospitals or communicate with voters under quarantine will receive a full set of personal protective equipment.
The authorities mobilized about 20,000 police officers to ensure order at the polling stations.
Two days before the vote, leading sociological services published the latest pre-election forecasts and concluded that the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party in coalition with the Union of Democratic Forces will once again receive the majority of the votes. Experts estimate that GERB will receive the support of about 28% of voters, while its main opponent, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), will receive about 20%.
The third place in the polls is taken by the new party There is Such a Nation and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which can receive about 13% of the votes, respectively.
Despite the massive protests demanding the resignation of the government led by the leader of the GERB party Boyko Borisov, which continued since the summer of 2020, the election campaign in Bulgaria was sluggish. There were practically no bright public debates, pre-election actions and speeches.
Priorities of political parties
The leader of the political party GERB and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov spent almost the entire election campaign behind the wheel of an SUV, visiting the country's largest construction sites - highways, gas pipelines, compressor stations and new enterprises, assuring voters that only GERB can be responsible for the future of Bulgaria, promising to protect life and the health of citizens, as well as "work, work, work".
The main rival of the GERB party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, has declared its desire to deprive the ruling politicians of power today and the need for decisive changes. Party leader Korneliya Ninova came up with a concrete management plan for the next 100 days after the elections, emphasizing the need to stabilize the health care system and the country's economy, develop social policy, ensure the growth of citizens' incomes and create jobs. All leading political parties declared the need to fight corruption in top tiers of power.