Exit polls and early results in Bulgaria suggest the center-right Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party of longtime leader Boyko Borisov has won snap parliamentary elections, the fourth such poll in 18 months.
An exit poll conducted by the Gallup International pollster showed GERB with 24.6 percent, apparently edging out the reformist We Continue the Change (PP) party of former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, which is expected to take 18.9 percent.
Polling data from Alpha Research had GERB with 25.5 percent, followed by PP with 19.9 percent.
Early preliminary results largely mirrored the exit polling data with GERB with more than 25 percent of the vote, followed by PP with 22 percent with 12 percent of the ballots counted.
Voter turnout on October 2 was estimated at about 30 percent.
Petkov and former Finance Minister Assen Vassilev, co-chairs of the PP party, later conceded and declared they will not participate in a coalition with GERB.
"It is GERB's responsibility to form a government. We promised that we will never participate in a coalition with GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and we will keep our promise," Petkov said, referring to an ethnic-Turkish-backed party, the DPS.
Vassilev added that GERB and the DPS were both a "symbol of corruption" in Bulgarian politics.
The Southeast European country of nearly 7 million people has been plagued by political gridlock since 2020, when it was rocked by nationwide protests as public anger over years of corruption boiled over.
Much of the ire was directed at longtime leader Borisov and GERB.
The latest government, led by Petkov, collapsed in June after just six months when one of its coalition partners quit. Petkov has struggled to deliver on his pledge to stamp out corruption.
He has also backed Ukraine in its fight against Russia in a country traditionally friendly toward Moscow and accuses the Kremlin of helping orchestrate the collapse of his government, which refused to pay for gas in rubles as demanded by Russia.
SEE ALSO: For Putin, Against 'Global Liberalism': Why So Many Bulgarian Parties Support RussiaAfter casting his vote, Borisov told reporters that Bulgaria needs to clearly position itself on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
"With this, aggression, with this war with a clear aggressor in the face of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin -- [I have] nothing against the Russian people -- with this farce with the referendums, Bulgaria must be very clear, categorical, and precise about its place in the European Union and NATO," he said, adding that Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone should be the first and most important task.
Petkov rejected recent polls as questionable and voiced confidence that the vote will yield positive results for his party.
"After this election, we will make a coalition with the Bulgarian people," Petkov told reporters after casting his ballot.
"Today's election is very important. The choice is between going back to the years of transition or to break with this period once and for all and heading to a new prosperous and reformed Bulgaria. I believe that all Bulgarians today will make the choice for Bulgaria to move forward," Petkov said.
As many as eight parties may break the 4 percent threshold needed to gain entrance to parliament and take seats in the 240-member legislature.
One of them, the far-right Revival party which has been polling at around 11 percent to 13 percent, has taken advantage of a wave of populism sweeping Europe -- as witnessed by recent gains by far-right parties in Italy and Sweden -- spurred by economic fears and uncertainty first stoked by the COVID-19 pandemic and now Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: Revival On The Rise: Ahead Of Elections, Far-Right Party Is Tapping Into Bulgarian Public AngerThe Revival party has promised to take Bulgaria out of the EU and NATO, and advance policies friendly to the Kremlin.
While many experts dismiss the anti-Western rhetoric of the Revival party as little more than campaign bluster, they do caution that the party is doing the bidding of the Kremlin.
Alpha Research polling showed Revival securing 10 percent of the vote.
Early results gave Revival more than 11 percent of ballots counted. The DPS had 9 percent as did the Bulgarian Socialist Party.