- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
Bulgaria's sixth vote in three years set to quash hopes for change
Bulgarians head to the polls on Sunday for a sixth time in three years, with hopes for change expected to be quashed in the Balkan country.
As support for a reformist coalition has plunged, former prime minister Boyko Borisov's conservative GERB party looks set to emerge strengthened as the major political player in the EU's poorest member.
After massive anti-corruption protests in 2020 brought down Borisov following close to a decade in power, GERB is however expected to continue to struggle to find partners to govern, with analysts seeing high chances for yet another snap election in the autumn.
Amid the worst instability since the end of communism, reforms necessary to unlock EU funding and integrate fully into the Schengen area of free movement could be delayed further, according to Mario Bikarski, senior Eastern and Central Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
- 'At end of my patience' -
The vote is being held alongside EU elections, where similar results are anticipated with reformists having lost significant ground.
Polling stations on Sunday open at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and close at 8:00 pm with low turnout expected amid voter apathy.
"Elections? When are they again?" asked dentist Stefan Dinev, 39. "I have always voted but I'm at the end of my patience."
Eve-of-ballot opinion polls show GERB well ahead, with about 25 percent of the vote.
"The state is plunged into chaos... Bulgaria has never been so unstable, nor Europe so insecure," Borisov, 64, said at a rally in Sofia, referring to the war in Ukraine.
Voters are expected to punish Borisov's partners in the outgoing government, the liberal reformist PP-DB, for having agreed to work with GERB after accusing Borisov's past governments of corruption.
The two former rivals agreed to govern on a common pro-EU platform of ensuring Bulgaria -- traditionally close to Russia -- supports Kyiv's fight against Moscow's invasion.
But the fragile partnership tumbled in April after just nine months in power after the parties failed to agree on key judiciary and other reforms.
PP-DB are now tipped to garner about 15 percent of the votes, 10 percentage points less than their result in April last year.
- 'Strong leader' -
According to a recent study by the Open Society Institute, 49 percent of Bulgarians questioned prefer "a strong leader" -- an image former firefighter and bodyguard Borisov has long sought to portray, even though he himself does not plan to be premier for one more term.
A partner for GERB could be the Turkish minority MRF party, which also has support of around 15 percent, according to the latest polls.
MRF leader Delyan Peevski, a 43-year-old lawmaker and former businessman who is sanctioned by the United States and Britain for corruption, has said during the campaign that he was "ready to govern".
But analysts believe having the party formally in the cabinet risks provoking protests and could tarnish the country's image.
On the other hand, a tacit behind-the-scenes partnership between GERB and MRF already dates back years, according to analysts.
Pro-Russian nationalists Vazrazhdane are also polling at 15 percent with Russian propaganda and disinformation playing a large part in the vote.
A survey by the Sofia-based think-tank Center for the Study of Democracy found that close to 40 percent of the Bulgarians share disinformation and almost 70 percent believe in conspiracy narratives.
O.Johnson--AMWN