AS OF a few months ago, it was possible to hope that Bulgaria’s parliamentary election on March 26th might be fought over the crucial issue of corruption. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, of the centre-right GERB (“coat of arms”) party, called the elections in November after his party’s candidate lost the presidential race to Rumen Radev, a former air-force general backed by the rival Socialists. Mr Borisov, who became prime minister in 2014 after a banking crisis and a wave of anti-corruption protests, had turned the presidential vote into a referendum on his leadership. Voters, disappointed by slow anti-corruption efforts as well as controversial reforms in education and health care, gave him a thumbs-down.

The polls are showing a tight race, with GERB and the Socialists each getting about 30% support. “None of the big parties has a clear lead,” says Daniel Smilov of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, a think-tank. Meanwhile, a new anti-corruption party, Yes Bulgaria, hopes to capitalise on anger against self-dealing elites. The party models itself on the Save Romania Union, which won 9% of the vote in Romania’s elections in December. But Yes Bulgaria’s chances of making it into parliament are uncertain, and the election is likely to be decided on economic issues, rather than the deeper question of corruption.

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Fighting graft, nepotism and oligarchic power is seldom easy but Sofia’s record is poor. The European Union, which has issued semiannual reports on Bulgaria’s anti-corruption progress since it joined the union in 2007, has been relentlessly critical. Half of Bulgarians say the government is doing a poor job of fighting corruption, according to polling by Transparency International, a watchdog.

Yes Bulgaria’s founder, Hristo Ivanov, resigned as justice minister in Mr Borisov’s government in 2015 after parliament rejected reforms to the judicial system. He likens the Bulgarian state to a crumbling building. “The big question is whether we’ll let the building crush us when it falls, or demolish it ourselves so we can build something new and solid,” Mr Ivanov says. To establish the rule of law and improve the judicial system, he has recruited a slate of candidates with little or no prior experience in politics, many of them lawyers, IT specialists or doctors.

The party generated substantial enthusiasm when it was launched in January, drawing hundreds of people to its official launch. A month later three legal appeals were filed against its registration; in two cases the identities of the filers appeared to be fraudulent, raising questions about who was behind the moves. In the end Yes Bulgaria was forced to appear on a coalition ticket along with the Greens and one other marginal party, gathering some 20,000 petition signatures in just one day, well above the 3,000 required to register. It has raised more than 163,000 lev ($90,000) in small, individual donations, a rare accomplishment in Bulgarian politics. “We’ve been crowdfunding a political startup,” says Mr Ivanov.

But it is not clear that the excitement will translate into seats. Polls show Yes Bulgaria drawing perhaps 3% of the vote, short of the 4% threshold needed to enter parliament. Although the party has support in Sofia and other cities, “in small towns very few people know who Hristo Ivanov is,” says Boryana Dimitrova of Alpha Research, a pollster. Media outlets aligned with other parties have run articles attempting to discredit it; in early March some circulated a false news story that one of its more prominent candidates, Emil Jassim, a civic activist, had been beaten to death. On March 23rd Mr Jassim actually was assaulted on the street in Sofia, a development which doubtless surprised anyone who had believed reports of his demise.

The Socialists and GERB have both spent the campaign making generous promises to raise wages and pensions. Kornelia Ninova, the Socialist leader, has run on a Eurosceptic and pro-Moscow line, promising to block European Union sanctions against Russia and opposing the EU’s free-trade agreement with Canada. She plans to replace the country’s 10% flat income tax with a progressive-rate system, and favours a Russian-backed project to build a nuclear power plant, the country’s second. GERB has kept its stance on the plant ambiguous.

The government that emerges from the election is expected to be a fragile alliance of three or four parties. Regardless of whether GERB or the Socialists come in first, one likely junior partner is the United Patriots, an assemblage of small anti-Muslim nationalist parties. Other coalition candidates include the Movement for Rights and Freedom, which represents the ethnic Turkish minority, and Volia, a new populist party launched by the wealthy owner of a chain of pharmacies and petrol stations. Mr Ivanov’s crusade to clean up Bulgarian governance will be a long one.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party is leading in Sunday's snap parliamentary election with 32.8 percent of the votes, the exit poll showed.

According to the Gallup International poll for Nova TV, 28.4 percent voted for its main rival — the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

The poll showed that the United Patriots party with 8.8 percent, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with 7.8 percent and the Volya party with 4.8 percent of the votes all passed the 4-percent threshold to be represented in the parliament.</s>Bulgarian Socialists' Party leader Kornelia Ninova smiles as she casts her vote in Sofia on Sunday, March 26, 2017. Bulgarians are heading to the polls for the third time in four years in a snap vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member country closer to Russia as surveys put the GERB party neck-and-neck with the Socialist Party. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The Latest on Bulgaria's election Sunday: (all times local):

The leader of Bulgaria's Socialists has conceded defeat after exit polls showed her party placing second in the parliamentary election held Sunday.

Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova congratulated former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's GERB party as the election's winner.

The Socialists, who campaigned on forging closer relations with Russia, ruled out any option of serving in a coalition government with the center-right GERB party.

Ninova says that if "GERB fails to form a government, we will try to do so."

The leader of Bulgaria's center-right GERB party says the party is prepared to form a government after exit polls showed it placing first in a parliamentary election.

Former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said Sunday evening that GERB has the "duty to form a government because this is the will of the people and because we triggered these early elections."

Two exit polls gave the party more than 32 percent of the vote.

Borisov declined to say with which parties he would try to form a coalition government, pending final election results expected Monday.

However, he stressed: "We will not allow any interference of foreign powers in Bulgaria's internal affairs."

Tensions over the right of Bulgarian citizens living in Turkey to vote and allegations that Ankara was interfering in the election prompted pre-voting protests.

A pair of exit polls from Bulgaria's parliamentary election shows the center-right GERB party of former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov taking the lead.

The Alpha Research exit poll said GERB won 32.2 percent of the vote and the Socialists came in second with 28 percent.

A separate exit poll by Gallup International Balkan had GERB with 32.8 percent and the Socialists with 28.4 percent.

The Central Election Commission said voter turnout for Sunday's election stood at nearly 43 percent at 5 p.m., a larger showing than in previous elections.

Official results are expected Monday. If they confirm the exit polls, Borisov will be handed a mandate to form his third cabinet.

The GERB party was defeated by Socialist President Rumen Radev in the November 2016 presidential election. Borisov resigned after Radev's victory.

Bulgarians are headed to the polls for the third time in four years in an early vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member closer to Russia.

Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova, whose party wants EU sanctions lifted against Russia imposed after it annexed Crimea in 2014, says Sunday that she voted "for a change."

She also voted for "security at our borders and inside the country, for justice, and lastly not to give an opportunity to another country, no matter if it comes from East, West or South to interfere in our politics."

Bulgaria, located in southeast Europe, is both a member of the EU and NATO.

Bulgarians are headed to the polls for the third time in four years in an early vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member closer to Russia.

Some 6.8 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote Sunday in an election widely predicted to bring about a fragile government coalition and a fragmented legislature where nationalist and populist parties could become kingmakers.

The election campaign focused on the future of EU, the influence of Russia and Turkey on domestic politics, as well as problems associated with an increased number of migrants.

Surveys say former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's center-right GERB party is running neck-and neck with the Socialist Party of ex-communists. Both parties have pledged to improve economic relations with Russia, appealing to voters who feel let down by the EU.

"I voted for a stable, predictable and united Bulgaria, because tomorrow our nation needs to be united," Borisov said after casting his ballot.

The Bulgarian election on Sunday has sparked protests at the Turkish border for the last two days by nationalists who are determined to keep Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey from coming in to vote.

The border blockade reflects rising tensions between the two countries over Turkey's open backing for a group that represents Bulgaria's sizeable Turkish minority. Some 10 percent of the 7.2 million Bulgarians are of Turkish origin or are Muslims. More than 300,000 have settled permanently in neighboring Turkey, but still hold a Bulgarian passport and are eligible to vote.

The blockade by nationalists could affect some 50,000 voters from Turkey. The protesters claim Turkish officials are forcing expatriate voters to support DOST, a pro-Ankara party running for the first time that nationalists fear is a threat to Bulgarian interests. The tense relations have prompted a spat between the two nations' leaders. Boiko Borisov, a 57-year-old political maverick who combined man-in-the-street rhetoric with a strict obedience to the EU when he was prime minister, is a key figure in Bulgaria's election on Sunday. His center-right GERB party was defeated by Socialist President Rumen Radev, a former air force general, in the November 2016 presidential election. Borisov resigned after Radev's victory, and his party's popularity faded because of the slow pace of reforms to eliminate graft and poverty and overhaul the judicial system. It is now pledging to fight corruption and to raise minimum wages and supports EU sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova wants EU sanctions against Russia lifted, a bigger role for the state in the economy, and has wooed voters with promises of higher salaries and pensions. A populist party Volya (Will) is trying to enter Parliament. It's led by Veselin Mareshki, a wealthy businessman who combines patriotic rhetoric with promises of strict immigration controls and friendlier relations with Moscow.</s>Former prime minister Boyko Borisov's enthusiastically pro-EU GERB party and the Socialist Party (BSP) are both seen garnering around 30 percent in Bulgaria vote (AFP Photo/Dimitar DILKOFF)

Sofia (AFP) - Bulgarian voters went to the polls Sunday in a tightly fought election pitting Socialists seen as closer to Russia against two-time centre-right premier Boyko Borisov, who is seeking another comeback.

Opinion polls ahead of the vote in the European Union's poorest country, where the average monthly salary is just 500 euros ($540) and corruption is rife, also indicated a strong showing by nationalists.

A close result is expected between the karate-kicking Borisov's enthusiastically pro-European Union GERB party and the Socialist Party (BSP), newly led by the energetic Kornelia Ninova.

GERB had a narrow lead in an early exit poll -- published by local media in defiance of a ban on releasing early results -- with 31.6 percent to the BSP's 30.8 percent.

It is the ex-communist nation's third election in four years and turnout at 1 pm (1000 GMT) was just over 25 percent -- two points higher than at the same point in the last parliamentary election in 2014.

"I voted for a stable, predictable and united Bulgaria," Borisov said after casting his ballot, adding: "Bulgarians must decide today who is fit to lead this kind of politics so let them choose."

The scourge of graft -- ever-present in Bulgaria -- loomed over the poll, with prosecutors saying 79 electoral fraud probes had been launched. The Nova television channel said it had filmed ballots being offered for sale for as little as 15 euros each.

Socialist chief Ninova denied that her party's perceived Russian sympathies would have any impact if it took office.

"No foreign country, eastern or western, should be allowed to influence Bulgarian politics," she said.

Borisov, 57, once a bodyguard for Bulgaria's last communist leader, has long been the dominant figure in national politics, serving as premier from 2009 to 2013 and again from 2014 to 2017.

In between, the BSP was in power for barely a year.

Both times Borisov quit early, first in 2013 after mass protests and then last November after his candidate for the presidency was beaten by an air force general backed by the BSP.

Many voters now seem to be turning away from the main parties towards groups on the fringes, or are not bothering to vote.

"The big parties are totally disconnected from the reality of what is going on in Bulgaria and that is outright irresponsible," said IT worker Alexander Naydenov, 35.

"That is why I voted for one of the smaller parties with the hope that they can act as a balance to the big ones."

If Ninova becomes premier, it raises the prospect of NATO member Bulgaria, which has long walked a tightrope between East and West, drifting more towards Moscow.

Ninova has said she is not content with Bulgaria being a "second-class member" of the EU and that she will veto an extension of sanctions imposed by Brussels on Moscow.

Russia, which has long had close cultural and economic ties with Bulgaria, has been accused of seeking to expand its influence in other Balkan countries in recent months.

But Borisov has also said that he wants more "pragmatic" ties with Russia and Ninova, 48, insists that she remains committed to the EU.

"We are the party that ushered Bulgaria into the European Union and NATO and we stand by (our obligations in) these organisations," she told AFP in a recent interview.

Whichever party comes first will find it hard to form a coalition in what will likely be a highly fragmented parliament and the resulting government may not last long.

Both of the main players have ruled out a tie-up with the MRF party representing Bulgaria's Turkish minority, expected to get between eight and 11 percent of the vote.

Bulgaria is home to a 700,000-strong Muslim minority, most of them ethnic Turks, while at least 200,000 ethnic Turks with Bulgarian passports live in Turkey.

Ankara's support for a new party, Dost, which unlike the MRF fervently backs Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has fuelled a spat in recent days.

This in turn has boosted the United Patriots nationalists, who blocked the border on Friday to stop voters coming in from Turkey, and who may come third.

Another potential coalition partner is Veselin Mareshki, a colourful populist who likes being called the Bulgarian Donald Trump.</s>SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarians are heading to the polls for the third time in four years in a snap vote that could tilt the European Union’s poorest member country closer to Russia.

Polls on Sunday opened at 7 a.m. (0400GMT) and first results from exit polls are expected shortly after they close at 8 p.m. (1700GMT).

Some 6.8 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote in an election widely predicted to bring about a fragile government coalition and a fragmented legislature where nationalist and populist parties could become kingmakers.

Surveys say former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov’s center-right GERB party is running neck-and neck with the Socialist Party of ex-communists. Both parties have pledged to improve economic relations with Russia, appealing to voters who feel let down by the EU.</s>SOFIA: Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party led in a parliamentary election, scoring 32.58 percent of the vote with 89.7 percent of ballots counted on Monday, data from the electoral commission showed.

The Socialist party (BSP) was in second place with 26.8 percent of the vote, followed by the nationalist alliance United Patriots with 9.2 pct, according to the latest count.

Two more political parties were set to enter the Balkan country's next parliament - the ethnic Turkish MRF party scoring 8.9 percent and populist Will party scoring 4.1 percent of the vote so far, the commission data showed.

Final official results are expected on Thursday.</s>SOFIA, BULGARIA—The centre-right party of former prime minister Boiko Borisov took the lead in Bulgaria’s parliamentary election on Sunday, a pair of exit polls showed, a result that if confirmed by official returns indicates support for the country keeping its European identity. The Alpha Research exit poll said Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, known by its acronym, GERB, won 32.2 per cent of the vote, with the Socialist Party coming in second with 28 per cent, while a separate exit poll by Gallup International Balkan had GERB with 32.8 per cent and the Socialists with 28.4 per cent. The leader of the Socialists Party conceded defeat and said the party would not take part in a coalition government with GERB. Official results are expected Monday. If they confirm the exit polls, Borisov, a political maverick who combines man-in-the-street rhetoric with a pro-European Union disposition, will be handed a mandate to form his third cabinet. The result appeared to be a setback for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has sought to exploit divisions in the European Union to strengthen Russia’s influence, particularly in a country like Bulgaria, one of the former Soviet Union’s closest allies.

Borisov, 57, a burly former firefighter and bodyguard of the country’s former Communist leader, has been a leading figure in Bulgarian politics for more than a decade. Although many Bulgarians are unhappy about the country’s endemic corruption, they nonetheless saw Borisov and the GERB as preferable for leading the country. “Bulgarians chose to play it safe and bring GERB back to power, betting on their future in the European Union,” said Genoveva Petrova, the executive director of Alpha Research, a Sofia-based pollster. “The Socialists failed to convince people that they could be an agent of change.” The election was held at a particularly challenging time for Bulgaria, a nation of 7.2 million that has been a EU member for 10 years and a NATO member for 13 years but still maintains close cultural ties with Russia in a balancing act of East and West.

Europe’s fractures over the migrant crisis and the impending departure of Britain from the European Union have complicated Bulgaria’s balancing act. The election of President Donald Trump, who has criticized the EU and NATO and expressed admiration of Putin — further emboldening the Russian leader — have made the challenge tougher. GERB did not win enough votes to govern alone, and will probably form a coalition government with the United Patriots, an alliance of three nationalist parties that exit polls showed placing third. Borisov, 57, resigned as prime minister after his party lost the November presidential election. Parliament was dissolved in January, and the president appointed a caretaker government that will stay until a new government is formed. Borisov said GERB had the “duty to form a government because this is the will of the people and because we triggered these early elections.” He declined to say what parties may be in a future coalition, pending final results. Support for the nationalist alliance reflected widespread anger over an influx of migrants to this southeastern European country, which borders Greece, Turkey and Romania, and over Turkey’s open support for a party representing Bulgaria’s sizeable Muslim minority. Along with immigration, the election campaign focused on the future of the European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, and the influence of Russia and Turkey on domestic politics. The Socialist Party, led by Kornelia Ninova, who campaigned on forging closer relations with Russia, is made up mostly of ex-communists. It wanted EU sanctions against Russia lifted and tried to woo voters with promises of higher salaries and pensions. If “GERB fails to form a government, we will try to do so,” Ninova said. The Socialists also opposed the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free-trade agreement between Canada and the EU. Ninova went as far as calling Bulgarian members of the European Parliament who voted to approve that agreement “traitors.” “The party’s pro-Russian message intensified as the campaign progressed which scared away some undecided voters,” Petrova said. The GERB party’s popularity faded during Borisov’s previous term as prime minister because of the slow pace of reforms to eliminate graft and poverty and to overhaul the judicial system. Bulgaria is the EU’s poorest member. It is now pledging to fight corruption and to raise minimum wages, and supports EU sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. A populist party named Volya (Will) may end up entering Parliament. Exit polls showed it winning about 5 per cent of the vote, exceeding the 4-per-cent minimum threshold. The party is led by Veselin Mareshki, a wealthy businessman whose anti-establishment message combines patriotic rhetoric with promises of strict immigration controls and friendlier relations with Moscow. The Central Election Commission pegged voter turnout for the election at nearly 43 per cent at 5 p.m., a larger showing than in previous elections. The election sparked protests at the Turkish border by Bulgarian nationalists who were determined to keep Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey from coming in to vote. The protesters claimed Turkish officials were forcing expatriate voters to support DOST, a pro-Ankara party running for the first time. Some 10 per cent of Bulgarians are of Turkish origin or Muslim. More than 300,000 Bulgarians have settled permanently in Turkey, but still hold Bulgarian passports and are eligible to vote. The border tensions prompted a spat between the two nations’ leaders. While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized what he described as “pressure” on ethnic Turks in Bulgaria, Radev retorted that his country would not accept democracy lessons from Turkey. “We will not allow any interference of foreign powers in Bulgaria’s internal affairs,” Borisov said Sunday. With files from the New York Times</s>Bulgarian ex-Premier Boiko Borisov, leader of the center-right GERB party, speaks to media after voting, in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, March 26, 2017. Bulgarians are heading to the polls for the third time in four years in a snap vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member country closer to Russia as surveys put the center-right GERB party neck-and-neck with the Socialist Party.

Start the conversation, or Read more at News Times.</s>SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - The Latest on Bulgaria's election Sunday: (all times local):

Bulgarians are headed to the polls for the third time in four years in an early vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member closer to Russia.

Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova, whose party wants EU sanctions lifted against Russia imposed after it annexed Crimea in 2014, says Sunday that she voted "for a change."

She also voted for "security at our borders and inside the country, for justice, and lastly not to give an opportunity to another country, no matter if it comes from East, West or South to interfere in our politics."

Bulgaria, located in southeast Europe, is both a member of the EU and NATO.

Bulgarians are headed to the polls for the third time in four years in an early vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member closer to Russia.

Some 6.8 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote Sunday in an election widely predicted to bring about a fragile government coalition and a fragmented legislature where nationalist and populist parties could become kingmakers.

The election campaign focused on the future of EU, the influence of Russia and Turkey on domestic politics, as well as problems associated with an increased number of migrants.

Surveys say former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's center-right GERB party is running neck-and neck with the Socialist Party of ex-communists. Both parties have pledged to improve economic relations with Russia, appealing to voters who feel let down by the EU.

"I voted for a stable, predictable and united Bulgaria, because tomorrow our nation needs to be united," Borisov said after casting his ballot.

The Bulgarian election on Sunday has sparked protests at the Turkish border for the last two days by nationalists who are determined to keep Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey from coming in to vote.

The border blockade reflects rising tensions between the two countries over Turkey's open backing for a group that represents Bulgaria's sizeable Turkish minority. Some 10 percent of the 7.2 million Bulgarians are of Turkish origin or are Muslims. More than 300,000 have settled permanently in neighboring Turkey, but still hold a Bulgarian passport and are eligible to vote.

The blockade by nationalists could affect some 50,000 voters from Turkey.

The protesters claim Turkish officials are forcing expatriate voters to support DOST, a pro-Ankara party running for the first time that nationalists fear is a threat to Bulgarian interests.

The tense relations have prompted a spat between the two nations' leaders.

Boiko Borisov, a 57-year-old political maverick who combined man-in-the-street rhetoric with a strict obedience to the EU when he was prime minister, is a key figure in Bulgaria's election on Sunday.

His center-right GERB party was defeated by Socialist President Rumen Radev, a former air force general, in the November 2016 presidential election.

Borisov resigned after Radev's victory, and his party's popularity faded because of the slow pace of reforms to eliminate graft and poverty and overhaul the judicial system. It is now pledging to fight corruption and to raise minimum wages and supports EU sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova wants EU sanctions against Russia lifted, a bigger role for the state in the economy, and has wooed voters with promises of higher salaries and pensions.

A populist party Volya (Will) is trying to enter Parliament. It's led by Veselin Mareshki, a wealthy businessman who combines patriotic rhetoric with promises of strict immigration controls and friendlier relations with Moscow.</s>GERB, led by former prime minister Boiko Borisov, is vying with the Socialists to be the biggest party in the parliament, but with a tight margin of just 2.6 percent between them, the outcome of the Sunday vote is hard to predict.

GERB, which has yet to lose a general election since its creation 10 years ago, managed to see off a challenge from the resurgent socialist party.

Observers had suggested victory for the BSP might see Bulgaria, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, tilt more towards Russian Federation.

A former firefighter and bodyguard, 57-year-old Borisov has been a towering figure in Bulgarian politics in recent years.

In between the BSP was in power for barely a year.

The most likely options facing him include coming up with a viable deal with the nationalist United Patriots coalition, and adding what remains of his erstwhile coalition partner from November 2014, the centre-right Reformist Bloc – representing that part that has not since gone into opposition to him. The BSP leader Kornelia Ninova struck a strident pro-Moscow, anti-Western tone that has gone over well with certain groups of voters, but proved insufficient to win the election.

Ninova has said she is not content with Bulgaria being a “second-class member” of the European Union and that she will veto an extension of European Union sanctions on Russian Federation.

But Borisov also said during the campaign that he wanted more “pragmatic” ties with Russian Federation, while Ninova, 48, insisted that she remained committed to the EU.

“We are the party that ushered Bulgaria into the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and we stand by (our obligations in) these organisations”, she told AFP in a recent interview.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized what he described as “pressure” on ethnic Turks in Bulgaria ahead of the election.

Bulgaria is home to a 700,000-strong Muslim minority, majority ethnic Turks, while at least 200,000 ethnic Turks with Bulgarian passports live in Turkey.

The MDL’s leader, Mustafa Karadaya, has said that Erdoğan had “abandoned” the values of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Activists from the United Patriots party twice blocked border crossings with Turkey, promising to stop Turks who live across the border, but also hold Bulgarian citizenship, from voting.
Bulgarians vote to elect a new Prime Minister after the resignation of Boyko Borissov. Opinion polls predict a close contest between Borissov's centre-right GERB and the Socialist Party.