May 20 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's main opposition Socialist Party (BSP) holds a narrow lead ahead of the governing centre-right GERB party, polls show less than a month before the European Parliament elections in the country.
Of all Bulgarians who are certain how they will vote on May 26, some 32.7% said they will support BSP, while 32.2% intend to back GERB, according to the results of a survey conducted by Sofia-based polling agency Alpha Research during April 20-30 and published earlier this month.
In the previous poll conducted by Alpha Research in March, GERB led by a similar thin margin ahead of BSP.
The second biggest opposition party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) has attracted the support of 9.3% of all respondents in the latest survey. Nationalist party VMRO, which is part of United Patriots - the junior partner of GERB in the government coalition, ranked fourth with 6% support, overtaking right-wing Democratic Bulgaria since the previous survey in March.
Some 32.9% of the respondents in the latest poll of Alpha Research said they will certainly vote in the May 26 elections for members of the European Parliament (MEPs), while 36.7% said they will not vote.
The drop in support for GERB compared to the March survey is seen as a result of a recent series of resignations of cabinet ministers and key members of the party over suspected corruption in real estate purchases. The GERB officials have denied any wrongdoing.
Another Bulgarian polling agency, Mediana, has found a wider margin of 2% between BSP and GERB (31.9% versus 29.9%).
The property scandals involving high-ranking GERB members have also reduced the willingness to vote for MEPs, according to the results of Mediana's latest poll conducted between May 2 and May 7. Some 38% of the respondents said that they will cast ballots, compared to 51% a month earlier.
Bulgaria currently has 17 MEPs and will send the same number of representatives to the new European Parliament.