Bulgaria to hold early election after coalition talks fail

By VESELIN TOSHKOV
Associated Press

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria is heading to a new parliamentary election this fall after the largest three parties in parliament failed to find common ground for a coalition government. The country has been led by a pro-Western government since last year. Political analysts believe that new elections will bring a stronger presence of nationalist and pro-Russia groups into parliament. The experts also believe that the vote could again produce a fragmented parliament, and deepen the political impasse that has gripped the European Union’s poorest member for months. The country’s president must now dissolve parliament, appoint a caretaker government, and set a date for Bulgaria’s fourth parliamentary vote since April 2021.