STORY: Early parliamentary elections held in Bulgaria
SHOOTING TIME: Oct. 27, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 28, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:23
LOCATION: Sofia
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of people voting

STORYLINE:

Bulgarians went to the polls on Sunday to vote in the country's early parliamentary elections, the seventh in three and a half years.

The coalition of the GERB Party and Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-UDF) is leading, according to exit polls announced by the Bulgarian National TV on Sunday.

Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to elect 240 lawmakers among 4,854 candidates from 19 political parties and nine coalitions, as well as one independent candidate, according to the Central Election Commission.

The commission said that 12,879 polling stations opened nationwide at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and were due to close at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, 719 polling stations were available for Bulgarians living abroad to cast their ballots.

The final results should be announced no later than Oct. 31.

The previous election was held in June, but parliament failed to form a regular cabinet, forcing another election.

The National Assembly is Bulgaria's legislative body. It also elects the government by a simple majority and has a four-year term, except in certain circumstances, such as when it cannot elect a government.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sofia.
(XHTV)