5 Parties to Enter Bulgaria's Parliament In Case of Early Elections

Politics » DOMESTIC | November 17, 2013, Sunday // 16:51
Bulgaria: 5 Parties to Enter Bulgaria's Parliament In Case of Early Elections Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

A total of five political parties will enter Bulgaria's Parliament if elections were held today, according to a survey of the Institute of Modern Politics (IMP).

The survey was conducted in the period November 1-10, 2013 among 1022 people through telephone interviews.

According to the respondents, the makeup of the Bulgarian Parliament would be the following (based on 60.6% voter turnout): the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) – 26.2% of the votes, center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) – 26.2%, right-wing Reformist Bloc – 8.2%, liberal party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) – 8.1%, the recently launched Bulgaria without Censorship party of controversial TV journalist Nikolay Barekov – 6.1%, nationalist party VMRO – 6.1%.

According to the authors of the survey, the result indicates that the Bulgaria without Censorship party may team up with the nationalist formation for the elections.

The IMP argues that the parity between the main rival formations, ruling socialist party BSP and former ruling party GERB, can be attributed to the scandal with Hristo Biserov, former MP of coalition partner DPS, and the escalation of tensions during the ongoing anti-government protests.

The IMP says that no sustained upward or downward trends can be identified as regards support for both BSP and GERB.

Of the parties which are currently represented in Parliament, the respondents leave out nationalist party Ataka, which gets 1.3% of the votes.

Nationalist party National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria (NFSB), which is not part of Bulgaria's current Parliament, gets 1.9% of the votes.

According to the IMP, both Ataka and NFSB stand the chance of overcoming the 4% threshold to enter Parliament.

Of the other parties which ran at the May 12 parliamentary elections, the Modern Bulgaria Movement gets 0.9% of the votes and the People's Voice party – 0.8%.

As regards new political projects, the Bulgaria without Censorship party gets 14.70% of the votes, the Reformist Bloc – 12.5%, the United Bulgaria party of former rhythmic gymnastics coach Iliyana Raeva – 7.20%, and the Bulgaria for Alternative to the Fear, Totalitarianism and Apathy (BASTA) party – 1.9%. A total of 59.10% of the polled say they would not vote for any of the new political formations.

The IMP informs that a total of 54.1% of the polled back the occupation of the central building of the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" by protesting students, while 35.5% oppose the step.

The IMP points out that the indefinite blockade of the University building, staged in a bid to trigger the resignation of the socialist-led government and the dissolution of Parliament, has become a polarizing issue for Bulgarians.

A total of 37.9% of the respondents say that the occupation of the Sofia University building was orchestrated by forces external to the student community, while 48% believe that the step was an initiative of the students and was not affected by external forces. Some 14.1% of the polled cannot determine the driving force behind the protest of the university students.

Meanwhile, 51.2% of the polled say that Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev does a poor job of being a unifier of the nation, as the Constitution requires, while 42.8% hold the opposite view, and 6% cannot comment on the matter.

The IMP says that the support demonstrated by Plevneliev for the anti-government rallies and the lack of sufficient evidence of his emancipation from GERB, the party which backed his presidential nomination, cause Bulgarians to question the capability of Plevneliev to epitomize the unity of the nation and be a transpartisan institutional factor encouraging attempts to reach nationwide agreement on core problems.

Besides, some 41.5% of the polled support the total abolition of subsidies for political parties, 45.6% say they should be reduced, while 5.3% believe that the existing party finance model should remain in place.

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Tags: Bulgarian Parliament, snap elections, parliamentary elections, Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, Socialist-led government, Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, GERB, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, nationalist party, Ataka, NFSB, VMRO, Bulgaria without Censorship

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