On October 26-27, the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Lithuania, and Uzbekistan, as well as Bulgaria, go to the polls.
On October 27, Bulgaria is holding its seventh election in just three years. The country is returning to the polls after the results of the June 9 election, which failed to produce a majority capable of forming a government. 28 parties are represented, and 240 representatives of the Bulgarian unicameral parliament are being elected. There is a 4% threshold, according to polls, seven formations will cross it, but none will have enough representatives to rule alone. In June, former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s GERB Party came first with 68 seats, followed by DPS, Turkey’s now-divided minority party (47 seats), and the liberal PP-DB coalition (39 seats). The nationalist Vazrazhdane (Revival) movement is now on the rise.
Georgia voted October 26 for parliament, where the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012, is looking for its fourth straight victory. There are 18 parties running in the election; according to polls, Georgian Dream will lead with 34% of the vote, the opposition will continue to grow, but it is divided into four parties. The election is seen as a kind of referendum to see whether the country’s future will be closer to Russia or the European Union.
Lithuania votes on October 27 in the second round of political elections. 71 parliamentary seats will be awarded under the single-member system. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (PSL) of Vilija Blinkeviciute won the first round with 19.4% of the vote, while outgoing Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte garnered 18%. Remigijus Zemaitaitis’s populist movement Nemuno ausra (Dawn over Nemunas) is third place with 15%. In the Name of Lithuania party of Saulius Skvernelis, prime minister from 2016 to 2020, scored 9.2%, followed by the Liberals of Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen (parliament speaker) with 7.7%, and Union of Farmers and Greens got 7%.
Uzbekistan elects a new parliament, representatives of 12 regional councils, the Council of the capital Tashkent, and 208 district councils on Sunday, October 27. In Karakalpakstan, 65 representatives of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan are elected. Five political parties are competing: Democratic Liberal Party (UzLiDeP) of President Mirziyoyev, Democratic Party (Milliy Tiklanish), Ecological Party, Democratic Party of the People of Uzbekistan, Social Democratic Party (Adolat).