MERKEL’S CONSERVATIVES WIN SAARLAND STATE VOTE
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives won a regional election in the western state of Saarland on Sunday, dealing a setback to their Social Democrat rivals and boosting her prospects of winning a fourth term in Germany’s Sept. 24 national election. Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) strengthened their position as the largest party in the state despite expectations ahead of the vote that the Social Democrats (SPD) would be boosted by their new national leader, Martin Schulz. The CDU won 40.1 percent of the vote, up from 35.2 percent in the last election in Saarland in 2012, an exit poll for broadcaster ARD showed. The SPD slipped to 30.1 percent, down from 30.6 percent.
BULGARIA :GERB HAS AN EARLY LEAD
PRO-EUROPEAN PARTY TAKES LEAD IN BULGARIAN SNAP ELECTIONS
The pro-European GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) has taken an early lead in the snap parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, gaining 33.18 percent of the vote with less than 17 percent of the ballots counted, Bulgaria’s electoral commission said Sunday. In second place, with 27.45 percent, came the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Its leader, Kornelia Ninova, has already conceded defeat to GERB, promising that her party will not be a part of a coalition. However, Ninova added she is ready to form a government if GERB, led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, fails to do so. Apart from two main parties, another three political entities managed to meet 4 percent threshold required to enter parliament, including the nationalist alliance United Patriots and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), which represents Bulgaria’s Turkish minority. An official tally of the votes is expected to be released on Thursday.
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