Bulgarian Opposition Edges Forward as Tense Ballot-Count Continues

Bulgarian former prime minister Boyko Borissov outside a polling station on Sunday. EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

GERB was leading with 23.9 per cent while There's Such a Nation was a close second with 23.7 per cent.

The ongoing count indicates that the same opposition parties that did not manage to muster a coalition after previous elections in April could be set to have another attempt to form a government.

The numbers suggest that distrust of GERB, which has dominated Bulgarian politics since 2008, has grown amid discontent about corruption.

The election commission's most recent ballot-count updates are the first to feature votes from abroad, which are still incoming and expected to further boost support for There's Such a Nation, whose leader Trifonov is a popular figure among Bulgarians abroad.

Following the first indications that There's Such a Nation could overtake GERB, Trifonov commented on social media that Sunday was a "good day for Bulgarian democracy" and that would make a further announcement on Monday at 11am.

One of the other major forces in the country's politics, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, is continuing to lose support and has fallen into third place with 13.65 per cent, according to the election commission.

Leader Kornelia Ninova said on Sunday evening that she is not planning to resign despite growing expectations that she will do so.

Right behind the Socialists is pro-EU opposition alliance Democratic Bulgaria, once again exceeding expectations with 12.6 per cent, which could rise after the votes from abroad are fully processed.

Democratic Bulgaria was leading among expatriate voters in countries like Australia, China and Japan as well as in the capital Sofia.

The Movement for Rights...