Bescheiden overwinning socialisten bij Bulgaarse verkiezingen (en)

Bulgarian socialists won the parliamentary elections in the country on Saturday (25 June), but did not obtain enough votes to win an absoulte majority and form a government, Bulgarian media report.

The socialist party- Coalition for Bulgaria- won 31.17 percent of the votes, according to results published in the Bulgarian press on Monday (27 June).

The centrist National Movement Simeon II, led by Simeon Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, only obtained 19.91 percent.

The mostly ethnic-Turkish centrist Movement for Rights and Freedoms, currently in coalition with the National Movement Simeon II, got 12.45 percent.

For the Socialist party now to set up a government, it has to form a coalition with one of the other parties.

A probable coalition would consist of the socialists, the National Movement Simeon II, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.

The leaders of the political parties are currently negotiating, and according to daily Monitor, Mr Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha insists on remaining prime minister of the country should his party form a coalition with the socialists.

With the demands and conditions of the parties growing, the negotiations may take several days.

The leader of the socialist party, 39-year-old Sergey Stanishev, has reiterated several times that he would do what it takes to lead Bulgaria to EU membership, rejecting speculations that a socialist government may slow the country's EU bid.

Bulgaria is set to become an EU member in 2007.

Unpleasant surprise

The socialist party doubled their votes compared to 2001, and the National Movement Simeon II lost more than one million of theirs.

The former king, Simeon Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, failed to fulfil the promises he had made in 2001 as prime minister. Under his lead, the country saw economic growth of above five percent, and signed its Accession Treaty with the EU.

However, his government failed in social reforms and in improving the everyday life of the citizens.

The election campaign saw a record low turnout: 56 percent compared to about 60 percent in 2001.

The surprise of the elections is the performance of the ultra-nationalist Attack party, led by Volen Siderov, which was formed around two months ago.

Attack obtained 8.21 percent of the votes, meaning that it will have 21 deputies in the new government.

Although their leader says he does not have an anti-EU position, he would like some elements of the negotiations to be re-viewed (such as the closing of some of the reactors of a Bulgarian nuclear plant), which might mean slow the accession process in practice.

If the leaders of the main political parties fail to agree, a provisional government will be appointed and new elections will take place in the autumn, although Bulgarian media have dismissed this scenario as being unlikely.