A pro-Western reformist bloc won most votes in Bulgaria’s parliamentary election on Sunday, according to exit polls, but it is expected to struggle to form a stable coalition government in the European Union’s poorest member state, Trend reports citing Reuetrs.

The reformist bloc, comprising We Continue the Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB), won around 25.3% of the vote, an exit poll by GALLUP International showed, just ahead of a centre-right bloc led by the GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov which had around 24.7%.

The TREND pollster put PP/DB on 26.9% and GERB, along with its small partner Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), on 26.7%.

It was Bulgaria’s fifth election in two years, as personal antipathy between the leaders of the two main blocs has hampered the formation of a stable coalition government.

Source: Trend News Agency