Bulgarians have started voting in a snap parliamentary election three months after the resignation of the country’s socialist-led government.
Over 11,000 polling stations opened across Bulgaria in addition to 428 abroad on Sunday at 6:00 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT).
About 6.9 million Bulgarians are expected to participate in the election in the poorest country of the European Union (EU).
Bulgaria’s Socialist Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski resigned in July amid the political and economic crises in the Balkan state.
Opinion polls suggest the centre-right GERB party, led by former premier, Boyko Borisov, may win up to 36 percent of the ballots, with its rival, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), tipped to get almost 21 percent of the votes in the 240-seat parliament.
Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has urged people to go to the polls, arguing that “these elections will determine Bulgaria’s future for many years.”
Bulgarians hope that a new government will end the country’s political stalemate and revive its sluggish economy.
Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, is facing severe banking and energy crises. It is also struggling with worsening poverty levels, rising unemployment and falling living standards as well as persistent crime and corruption.
The exit poll results will be announced at the end of the election at 7:00 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT), with official results scheduled to be released by next week.
SSM/HMV/SS
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/10/05/381134/bulgarians-vote-in-snap-election/
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