April 1 in Bulgaria is a day free from political agitation before the early parliamentary election. Campaign messages are prohibited both on the day of silence and on the day of the vote itself and the local authorities have the right to prohibit the sale of alcohol on the territory of municipalities.

Each Bulgarian citizen has 24 hours to make up their mind and calmly decide which of the 15 registered parties and 7 coalitions to support.

The fact that about 7 to 14% of voters would decide whom to support in the last minute gives the hours of reflection extra importance. According to sociologists, the percentage of such voters is large enough to change the results of preliminary public opinion polls. Combined with an expected low turnout of around 40% and almost equal support for the top two parties, the decision of wavering voters could tip the scales significantly, with the winner of the election likely to be decided in the last minute.

For many Bulgarians, this fifth early vote is the hope that the knot of political impasse will be untied and that the newly elected parliament will form a stable government that will start solving the important problems - inflation, security, reforms in important sectors such as justice, health care, etc.

Although it is April 1, it is important that citizens take a serious look at the political offers of the candidates and make a decision as voting is no joke and people should go to the polling stations and cast their vote.

Text: E. Karkalanova

English: Al. Markov