SOFIA: Bulgarians vote in a parliamentary election on Sunday that will decide whether long-serving Prime Minister Boyko Borissov wins a fresh four-year mandate despite persistent concerns about graft in the European Union’s poorest member state.
Opinion polls suggest Borissov’s centre-right GERB will again be the largest party, with 28-29% of the vote, but will fall short of a majority and may struggle to build a stable coalition in a more fractured parliament.
That in turn could hamper Bulgaria’s ability to tap effectively the European Union’s 750 billion euro ($884 billion) Recovery Fund to help rebuild its battered economy after the coronavirus pandemic.
Borissov, 61, a burly ex-fireman in power almost without a break since 2009, has sought to showcase his successes in modernising Bulgaria’s creaking infrastructure during a low-key campaign held amid surging coronavirus infections.
“We have built a stable base on which the country can develop further. Bringing…