Sofia - The conservative opposition dominated Bulgarian
parliamentary elections Sunday, inflicting a huge defeat on Socialist
Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev's coalition, according to exit polls
and projections.
Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov's GERB party was just one seat short of
the 121 needed for a majority in the 240-seat assembly, the Sova
Harris polling agency said in its projection. The conservative Blue
Coalition, tipped to win 14 seats, already pledged allegiance to
Borisov.
Wading through Bulgaria's complex mixed electoral system, the
agency predicted 39 seats for the Socialists, 35 for their junior
coalition partners, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms of ethnic
Turks, 22 for the right-wing extremist Ataka and 10 for another new,
conservative party called Order, Law, Justice.
Borisov already said he was 'taking responsibility for Bulgaria's
future' and promised to put a cabinet in place swiftly.
With the election, Stanishev paid the price for failing to crack
down on corruption and for the ongoing economic downturn, just 18
months after ushering his country into the European Union.
Embezzlement of EU money spurred Brussels into suspending or
scrapping 1 billion dollars in aid to Bulgaria last year.
Even Sunday's polls served as a way out of prison for some of the
officials on trial for the embezzlement, as they ran for seats in the
Parliament, with the law guaranteeing them immunity during their
campaign and term of office, should they win.
While most Bulgarians euphorically counted down until the EU
accession, they quickly faced off with the reality of being by far
the poorest country of the 27-memmber bloc, with an average money
salary of just 300 dollars and even smaller pensions.
The former premier and abdicated King Simeon II, whose National
movement was a part of the government over the last eight years,
fared even worse and was ousted from the Parliament, falling below
the 4-per-cent threshold.
The outcome, even with the unofficial figures, marked Bulgaria's
clear turn to the political right and averted a politically and
economically costly stalemate, which some analysts had predicted
along with a quick repeat of the elections.
As in the vote for the European Parliament a month ago, election
day was again marred by allegations of vote-buying, widely practiced
by parties among the poor, particularly among the Roma, a 5-per-cent
minority.
USA
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