Bulgarian government struggles to win EU vote

A supporter of the Bulgarian Socialist Party waves a flag during a pre-election rally in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, May 18, 2007.

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's coalition government struggled to hold its ground in the country's first elections to the European Parliament on Sunday, as a low turnout highlighted frustration over corruption and poverty.

More than two thirds of eligible voters stayed at home, many disillusioned by a lack of progress in the two-year-old coalition government's reforms and fight against crime.

Exit polls showed the coalition's largest group, the Socialists (BSP) had won 22.0-25.4 percent of the vote, well below the third of the vote it garnered in the 2005 general election. Their ethnic Turkish partner MRF won a strong 19.5-26.3 percent.

Junior coalition partner, the centrist NMS of former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg, bore the brunt of voter dissatisfaction, capturing some 7-8 percent, just over a third of what it received two years ago.

"The government should be worried," said independent analyst Haralan Alexandrov. "It is losing support."

Results of the election were expected on Monday.

The vote comes after Bulgaria and neighboring Romania joined the European Union in January, following a last-minute rush to reform communist-era judiciary and state institutions.

Both countries are at risk of sanctions from the bloc, possibly soon after a June 27 progress report from Brussels, as fading momentum for reform is raising talk among some member states that the two were admitted too soon.

RAMPANT ABUSE

Surveys show fraud is costing the state millions of euros a year, while many Bulgarians still lack basic services.

The ruling coalition is also caught up in a graft scandal involving the economy minister and the country's top investigator. How the government and judiciary handle it is regarded as a litmus test of its willingness to root out abuse.

Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov was forced to go on leave earlier this month after prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations of corruption and blackmail.

"The vote is a clear slap in the face of the government. Its public credibility has weakened and the pressure on it to step up the fight against crime has risen," said Rumiana Bachvarova, political analyst with Market Links polling agency.

The election was a success for the new rightist party of Sofia mayor Boiko Borisov, which won some 21.0-25.4 percent of the vote.

Along with the Socialists and the Turkish party, it is likely to secure five out of Bulgaria's 18 seats in the EU assembly.

"We were underestimated," Borisov, a former bodyguard of Soviet-era dictator Todor Zhivkov, said after polls closed.

Typically, elections to the European Parliament attract lower turnout than national votes because they have little impact on domestic policy and often turn into popularity tests for ruling politicians.