site.btaEarly Parliamentary Elections Not Public's Desired Option - Alpha Research Sociologist Boryana Dimitrova

The public expectations are not in favour of early elections, which are not the desired option, sociologist Boryana Dimitrova of the Alpha Research polling agency told Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday. 

She said that the largest share - 40% of respondents in the agency's latest poll said they would prefer and believe that the best at this point is to implement the cabinet rotation between Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and GERB-UDF, while only about 20% are in favour of quick early elections. 

"The signals that are coming from the negotiating parties are that the government will continue to operate in its rotational version and with some significant changes that are yet emerge on stage" she said. 

Boryana Dimitrova stressed that in the event of early elections, GERB-UDF would be in a more favourbale position, which gave them the confidence to have a sharper tone and set conditions in the negotiations. 

"In general elections, even if they are held together with the European parliament elections, but where the focus will be on national issues, the positions of GERB-UDF over CC-DB would be about 5 - 5.5% higher, according to the Alpha Research study," she explained, adding that in the negotiations both sides are trying to win the best possible positions for themselves.   

In Dimitrova's words, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) was not present with the "familiar noisy behaviour" of their co-leader Delyan Peevski in the media during the negotiations for the rotation, but the party remains a factor, because there are decisions that will require a 2/3 majority in parliament. 

The lack of natural allies in the National Assembly is CC-DB's big problem. They want to set another principle, clear mechanisms for the regulators, but they must also have the tools to enforce them. If they do not have the tools to enforce, this strongly stated principle hangs in the air. Taking the Bulgarian Socialist Party into consideration would be a way to reduce the MRF's importance when 2/3 majorities are required, she said. When one doesn't have a solution, they resort to the easiest and most damaging options, which are these emotional exaggerations of the migrant issue, and other problems that could potentially exist," the Alpha Research sociologist said further.