Voters in Bulgaria went to the polls for the fourth time in 18 months to vote in snap parliamentary elections. ALDE Party member party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), increased its number of seats in an election that saw seven parties re-enter the parliament and a new historic low turnout of 38%.

The GERB party lead by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov finished first in the poll and will receive the exploratory mandate to form a government first from the President. He will face challenging coalition negotiations as it will require at least two other parties to form a government that enjoys majority support in the Parliament.

ALDE Party member party MRF finished third in the vote winning 13.8% and is set to win 36 mandates in the next Parliament, a further increase of two seats from the last snap election in November 2021.

Commenting on the election result, the party’s leader Mustafa Karadayi said: “The Movement for Rights and Freedoms again increases its electoral result. It receives the support of Bulgarian citizens and its voters, because we propose clear solutions to the multiple crises in front of us. But once again, the Bulgarian voters did not empower anyone to rule in a single party The National Assembly.”

“Therefore, with this election, citizens sent a strong signal that the politicians in Bulgaria should talk to each other, have a dialogue, seek a coalition among themselves in the name of solving their problems,” he said.

ALDE Party co-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP added: “MRF is again the third largest political force. We remain a stable party in these turbulent times of constant political crisis. But the elections are over and it is time for political responsibility and stable governance. Bulgaria has no more time to waste!”

“Bulgarian citizens fulfilled their part of the task, voted and again did not give their vote for only one political entity, precisely because they want the politicians to seek and find a consensus in the next National Assembly,” he said.

MRF pledges to continue insisting on its priorities for support to Ukraine, fighting inflation, stabilising the energy prices and the economy, and in the interest of striving for political stability the party’s leadership has expressed the readiness of the MRF to support any government proposal without requiring any governmental posts in return, under the single condition for upholding Bulgaria’s Constitution and laws and restoring democracy and statehood.