site.btaMarket Links Polling Agency: Three Quarters of Bulgarians Unhappy with Present Situation in Their Country

108 POLITICS - MARKET LINKS - POLL

Market Links Polling Agency:
Three Quarters of Bulgarians Unhappy with
Present Situation in Their Country


Sofia, December 3 (BTA) - Three quarters of the Bulgarians are unhappy with the present situation their country, according to an opinion poll conducted in November by the Market Links agency. Presenting the results of the poll on bTV on Monday, Dobromir Zhivkov from the agency said that similar attitudes were last measured in 2013 during large-scale street protests whichbrought about the collapse of the government of Plamen Oresharski.

According to Zhivkov, dissatisfaction with how Bulgaria is developing is so high that people expect early elections.

Dissatisfaction has climbed to 74 per cent in November, from 55 per cent in May.

Close to 70 per cent of the respondents in the poll said there is all reason to hold protest rallies. Zhivkov said that a large part of the population supports the protests even when not taking part in them.

The poll figures show that the high fuel prices which are the purported reason for the rallies are not the main motivation driving people out on the streets. "[High] fuel prices may be causing a wave of protests but the main issue is that, on the whole, people are not happy with their living standards," Zhivkov said.

The poll in November showed declining approval for both the government and the president.

The two main political forces: GERB, the main partner in the ruling coalition, and the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), both lose voter support.

BSP fails to make tangible gains from the current crisis in the Bulgarian society. In a possible election, GERB again will be the front runner, Zhivkov said.

The Volya party, which has 12 MPs in thepresent legislature, is unlikely to make it into the next Parliament.

The United Patriots power-sharing coalition of nationalist parties is experiencing a tangible drop in their voter support.

Below are the percentages the parties would win, according to the Market Links poll, if elections were held now, with the first figure showing the percentage of all voters and the second of the voters who said they would actually go to the polls:

GERB 16.9 per cent, 27.7 per cent
BSP 15.8 per cent, 24.9 per cent
Movement for Rights and Freedoms 4.6 per cent, 5.7 per cent
Democratic Bulgaria 3.1 per cent, 4.6 per cent
United Patriots 2.3 per cent, 5.2 per cent
Volya 1.1 per cent, 1.5 per cent. RY/ZH
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