Los búlgaros iban el domingo a elecciones que podrían inclinar al país, el más pobre de la Unión Europea, hacia la influencia de Rusia.
En el tercer proceso electoral en cuatro años, unos 6,8 millones de búlgaros están empadronados para votar. Se anticipa que la elección arrojará como resultado una frágil coalición de gobierno y una legislatura fragmentada con gran influencia de partidos nacionalistas y populistas.
Durante la campaña los temas centrales fueron el futuro de la UE y la influencia de Rusia y de Turquía en la política nacional, y la inmigración de gente que llega a este país del sudeste de Europa y que tiene frontera con Grecia, Turquía y Rumania.
Las primeras proyecciones de resultados deben publicarse a eso de las 8 de la noche (1700GMT).
Según las encuestas el partido GERB del ex primer ministro Boiko Borisov está parejo con el Partido Socialista, formado por ex comunistas. Ambos partidos han prometido fortalecer las relaciones con Rusia, lo que agrada a muchos votantes frustrados por lo que ha sido su integración con la UE. Bulgaria es también un miembro de la OTAN.
is also a member of NATO.
"I voted for a stable, predictable and united Bulgaria, because tomorrow our nation needs to be united," Borisov said after casting his ballot.
Borisov resigned after his party lost November 2016 presidential election. Parliament was dissolved in January and the president appointed a caretaker government that will stay until a new Parliament and government are elected.
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.
"(I voted) for a change ... 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," she said Sunday.
The election has sparked protests at the Turkish border by Bulgarian nationalists who are determined to keep Bulgarian citizens living permanently in Turkey from coming in to vote.
Borisov, a 57-year-old political maverick who combines man-in-the-street rhetoric with a pro-EU disposition, is a key figure in the election. His party was defeated by Rumen Radev, a former air force general, in the November 2016 presidential election.
The GERB 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.
A populist party Volya (Will) can enter Parliament if it wins more than the minimum four percent. It's 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 border blockade by nationalists reflects rising tensions between Bulgaria and Turkey over Turkey's open backing for a group that represents Bulgaria's sizeable Turkish minority. Some 10 percent of Bulgarians are of Turkish origin or are Muslims. More than 300,000 have settled permanently in Turkey, but still hold a Bulgarian passport and are eligible to vote.
The protesters claim Turkish officials are forcing expatriate voters to support DOST, a pro-Ankara party running for the first time.
The tense relations have 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, his Bulgarian counterpart Radev has retorted that his country would not accept democracy lessons from Turkey.
FUENTE: AP
