Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday in a seventh general election in little more than three years with little hope that a stable government will be formed to stop the country’s slide into political instability.

Voter fatigue and disillusionment with politicians have created an environment where radical political voices are successfully undermining public support for the democratic process and boosting the popularity of pro-Russian and far-right groups.

The never-ending election spiral has had a serious impact on Bulgaria’s economy and its foreign policy.

The country risks losing billions of euros in EU recovery funds due to lack of reforms. Full integration into the open-border Schengen area and joining the eurozone are likely to be delayed further.

Bulgaria Election
A woman walks in front of a GERB party poster in Sofia (Valentina Petrova/AP)

Polling stations opened at 7am local time (5am GMT) on Sunday. Initial exit poll results will be announced after polls close at 8pm (6pm GMT) and preliminary results are expected on Monday.

According to the latest opinion polls, Bulgarians’ lack of confidence in elections will result in a record-low voter turnout.

Gallup World Poll data shows only 10% of Bulgarians trust the integrity of their elections — the lowest proportion in the EU, where the average is 62%.

Some observers have labelled the past few years as a period of “revolving-door governments” which has additionally fueled voters’ apathy.

There was no clear winner in the latest vote, held in June, and the seven groups elected to the fragmented legislature were unable to put together a viable coalition. Observers suggest Sunday’s vote will produce more of the same.

Although former prime minister Boyko Borissov’s centre-right GERB party is tipped to finish first with a quarter of the votes it will be a hard task to secure enough support for a stable coalition government.

Bulgaria Election
Kiril Petkov, leader of We Continue the Change party, is seen among his supporters Sunday in Sofia (Valentina Petrova/AP)

The Balkan country of 6.7 million has been gripped by political instability since 2020 when nationwide protests erupted against corrupt politicians that had allowed oligarchs to take control of state institutions.

Bulgaria is one of the poorest and most corrupt European Union member states with an unreformed judiciary widely accused of serving the interests of politicians.

Analysts believe the main pro-Russia party Vazrazhdane could emerge as the second-largest group in parliament.

The far-right, ultra-nationalist and populist party demands that Bulgaria lift sanctions against Russia, stop helping Ukraine and hold a referendum on its membership in Nato.

The reformist, pro-EU We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria bloc is tipped to come in third.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which traditionally represented Bulgaria’s large ethnic Turkish minority, recently split into two rival factions, one around party founder Ahmed Dogan, and the other behind US-sanctioned businessman and former media tycoon Delyan Peevski. Both factions are tipped to enter parliament, gaining between 7% and 9% each,

Up to four smaller groups could also pass the 4% threshold for entering parliament, which would even more complicate the forming of a government.