Bulgaria’s opposition Socialists will take on the task to form a coalition, since the formerly ruling party GERB, which got a slight lead in the early elections on Sunday, is unable to do so, an expert argues.

“A ruling coalition headed and formed on a mandate of the Socialist party is the most likely scenario for Bulgaria now. This coalition will be – openly or secretly – supported by the ethnic Turkish party or the nationalist Attack,” Mihail Konstantinov, a mathematician and former head of state-owned IT company Information Services, commented on the day after elections.

"This cabinet is a version of the Socialist-led three-way coalition, which ruled Bulgaria 2005-2009, even though it may be called a program government or a government of national salvation,” the expert added.

Professor Konstantinov hailed the idea to invite experts from outside the three parties and use their expertise for the good of the country.

The Socialist party, who are second in the polls, have already said they would seek a broad consensus and put together a cabinet of technocrats.

Bulgaria's center-right GERB party, which was forced to resign under public pressure in February, took a slight lead over the Socialists in the crucial early general elections.

The center-right GERB party - headed by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov - and its main challenger the socialist BSP party were running neck-and-neck throughout the day, but at the end the recently ousted party took a lead of over 3%.

Support for GERB stood at 30.7%, while backing for the Socialists decreased to 27.6%, according to latest data.

Other parties expected to pass the 4% threshold needed to enter parliament are the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - which represents Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish minority – and the ultra-nationalist Ataka.

They garnered 10.4% and 7.4% respectively.

The centrist Bulgaria for Citizens Movement, headed by former European Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, failed to overcome a threshold of at least 4% of the votes to gain seats in parliament (3.26%).

All data shows four parties entering the 42nd National Assembly, in a combination that – on the face of it – is more likely to result in a socialist-led coalition than in GERB being able to form a government.

A party needs to garner more than 43% of the actual votes to hold a parliamentary majority.

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