Commentary of sociologists and political scientists
We cannot expect GERB voters to admit with pride that they voted for Grigorova. The whole campaign became a pit against the other. There was quite a lot of tension. The result of the local vote will be used to reshuffle the balance of government. This is what the political scientist Hristo Panchugov told NOVA.
Sociologist Elena Darieva stated that fragmented municipal councils have been observed since 2019. “On average, 7 political forces had representation, now the fragmentation has deepened and there are already 9. Where we have strong clashes, as in Varna, we have an equal number of municipal councilors of GERB and PP. Blagoevgrad is a record holder – with 44 mandates there are 16 political parties” , she emphasized.
Prof. Rumiana Kolarova shared that the headquarters themselves are still receiving information and therefore they are waiting – to count the votes finally. “There is a balance, because it became clear that the PP convincingly won in several cities. The picture is already balanced, so the local elections will not result in an upheaval in the central government and the disposition of the parties represented in the parliament,” she believes.
How will the results of the mayoral elections affect the “assembly”
For his part, sociologist Dimitar Ganev pointed out that 7,000-8,000 votes separate Vasil Terziev and Vanya Grigorova. “In the first round, it had the same effect. The PP-DB electorate is much less likely to refuse to repeat their vote in the polls or not say who they really voted for. In GERB, some voters did not say who they voted for,” he explained.
According to Kancho Stoychev, some people want to hide their vote because they are afraid. “There is public public pressure, forceful imposition of an opinion that differs from that of the public. The situation is distorted because it is unnatural – many of the sympathizers of the “assembly” are not happy with what is happening,” he said.
READ ALL ABOUT THE MAYORAL ELECTIONS HERE
Watch the whole conversation in the video.
