An award winning daily internet news service of Klipsan Press , publishers of reference works on electoral history and politics . Voters here are going to the polls today to elect a new parliament. Voice of America on 17 April reported that 6.5 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote and about 4.6 million of them are expected to go to the polls. On 19 April Reuters reported that under Bulgaria's system of proportional representation, the parties and coalitions put up lists of candidates in each of the country's 31 districts. A total of 4,448 candidates are contesting the polls, representing 35 parties and coalitions, which must poll a minimum of four percent nationwide to enter parliament.
Opinion polls give five parties and coalitions a chance of gaining seats in the new parliament.
Agence France-Presse on 18 April reported that 38 parties are putting forward candidates for Bulgaria's elections on Saturday, though only five parties are given a realistic chance of securing seats in the new parliament. The leading opposition group in the outgoing parliament is likely to be the big winner. The former communists who currently control 124 seats in the 240-seat chamber are likely to do poorly. A centrist grouping of monarchists and representatives of the Turkish minority. The Bulgarian Business Bloc.