Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Bulgarians vote for new parliament amid Covid fears

1616670
1616670
minus
plus

SOFIA: Bulgarians voted in a parliamentary election on Sunday that will decide whether long-serving Prime Minister Boyko Borissov wins a new four-year mandate despite persistent concerns about corruption in the European Union’s poorest member state.


Opinion polls suggest Borissov’s centre-right GERB will again be the largest party, with 28-29 per cent of the vote, but will fall short of a majority and may struggle to build a stable coalition in a more fractured parliament.


That could hamper Bulgaria’s ability to effectively tap the EU’s €750 billion ($884 billion) Recovery Fund to help rebuild the bloc’s economy after the coronavirus pandemic.


Borissov, 61, an ex-fireman in power almost without a break since 2009, sought to showcase his successes in modernising Bulgaria’s creaking infrastructure in low-key campaign after massive anti-graft rallies last summer dented his popularity.


“We showed what we have achieved’’, Borissov said after casting his ballot.


Polls will close at 8 pm, with exit polls due shortly afterwards. Partial results are due through the night into Monday, before final official results expected on Thursday. More than 6.7 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote, but pollsters expect a low turnout because of voters’ concerns over Covid-19 and a slow vaccine rollout.


Borissov, who has came under fire over the rollout, thanked the European Commission for 1.3 million additional Covid-19 vaccine shots, which the country will receive in the second quarter.


Bulgaria has seen coronavirus cases surging in March and now has the second highest coronavirus-related death rate, per million people on a 7 day rolling average, in the EU after Hungary, according to scientific online publication Our World in Data.


Although hospitals are full, the government eased some lockdown restrictions before the vote.


Borissov’s government has presided over a 36 per cent increase in the average monthly salary to 1,468 levs ($882), has kept public debt low, and secured entry to the “waiting room” for joining the euro currency.


But its failure to tackle endemic corruption and reform the judiciary brought thousands of protesters onto the streets for months during 2020. — Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon