Divided Bulgarians go to the polls, hoping for stability

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Kiril Petkov, leader of the centrist 'We Continue The Change' (PP) party, votes at a polling station in Sofia. Reuters/Stoyan Nenov

Bulgarians are voting in their fourth national election in less than two years , with little hope for a stable government emerging because of deep divisions within the political elite over how to tackle entrenched corruption.

Prolonged political turmoil threatens to undermine Bulgaria's ambitions to join the euro zone in 2024 amid double-digit inflation and steep energy prices, and could lead to a softening of Sofia's stance on the Russian war in Ukraine.

Voting started at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Sunday and ends at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT). Exit polls will be released after the ballots close, with first partial official results expected in the early hours of Monday.

"I hope for a government, but it will probably not happen," said 35-year-old programmer Boris Strandzhev after voting. "There are too many divisions - on how to combat corruption, how to push forward with the economy and how to address Russia".

Opinion polls suggest that up to eight political parties may enter the next parliament, with the centre-right GERB party of former long-serving premier Boyko Borissov, 63, leading with about 25 percent -26 percent of the vote.

Source(s): Reuters