"At this stage, we can say with certainty that there will be a runoff due to the fact that there will be no voter turnout, in which more than half of those included in the electoral lists will vote. The other is that Iliyana Yotova is currently a clear favorite with a fairly large lead". This was told by political scientist Assoc. Prof. Milen Lyubenov to the Bulgarian National Radio.
"There are at least two more unknowns related to the presidential race. One of them is whether GERB will nominate a candidate or support someone. The other is the candidate of "Vazrazhdane".
It would be a big mistake if GERB does not nominate a candidate. They will be the only parliamentaryly represented party that will not actually participate in the presidential elections. Their supporters will be disappointed.
I think that PP and DB will do their utmost to actively participate in the campaign in support of Andrey Gyurov, although they leave a distance and an opportunity for the candidate to lead. That is right, these are majoritarian elections. But the situation is such that in a runoff, Gyurov and Kandev will hardly be able to receive any additional support. Rather, patriotic forces and voters will support Yotova. Probably a large part of GERB voters will not vote at all".
He believes that at the moment PB can be defined as a "emphatically Eurosceptic and populist formation".
"Without categorically placing it in the left-right political spectrum".
For PB it is important to legitimize their position purely electorally, added Assoc. Prof. Lyubenov in the program "Nedelya 150".
"A victory for Iliyana Yotova will strengthen PB's position. The presidential elections are the first test for governance".
The opposition must rethink its future actions, the political scientist is convinced.
"My expectations are that bridges will be found between the individual parties in the direction of creating a new type of coalitions or political parties that will target not only a certain niche voter".