The "Volt" party, established by Nastimir Ananiev, will not participate in the upcoming October 27 elections as part of the "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) coalition. This decision was communicated by Simeon Trulev, co-chairman of "Volt," in a statement to the media. In the 2021 elections, "We Continue the Change" ran in partnership with "Volt" and "Middle European Class."

The announcement suggests that the condition for "Yes, Bulgaria" to remain in the coalition with "We Continue the Change" was the exclusion of "Volt." However, "Yes, Bulgaria" denied discussing this matter when asked by "Dnevnik."

Following the June elections, Kiril Petkov opted to enter the 50th parliament representing Sofia instead of Pernik, thereby not vacating his parliamentary seat for Ananiev, who subsequently became an associate. This Friday, during an extraordinary national council meeting, "Volt" will decide on its approach for the upcoming elections.

On Tuesday, "Yes, Bulgaria" confirmed that it would participate in the upcoming October parliamentary elections alongside "We Continue the Change" and "Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria" (DSB). This announcement followed discussions of a potential split within the coalition due to internal disagreements over how to address the declining voter support observed in the June 2024 election.

At a joint briefing on Wednesday, leaders from DSB, "Yes, Bulgaria," and "We Continue the Change" revealed that the coalition is in the process of updating its program. Key topics will continue to include the country's full integration into Schengen, accession to the Eurozone, and reforms to the security services. Bozhidar Bojanov of "Yes, Bulgaria" emphasized that the coalition's primary goal is to end the political crisis by regaining voter trust.

Despite this show of unity, the coalition did not address questions about how candidate lists would be arranged for the upcoming elections—a significant point of contention within the group. Atanas Atanasov, chairman of DSB, acknowledged the diversity within the coalition but affirmed that they are stronger together. Kiril Petkov, co-chair of "We Continue the Change," echoed this sentiment.

Last week, "Yes, Bulgaria" requested the elimination of the quota system for candidate selection and proposed criteria for choosing parliamentary candidates, urging efforts to bring in new members. This was set as a condition for remaining in the coalition, with a deadline of September 3.

Earlier on Tuesday, DSB confirmed it would stay in coalition with "We Continue the Change" for the upcoming elections. The WCC-DB coalition first joined forces for the April 2023 elections and has since participated together in various elections. However, the coalition has seen a significant decline in voter support, leading to the resignation of "Yes, Bulgaria" chairman Hristo Ivanov and his withdrawal from active politics following the June elections.

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