The Bulgarian Socialist Party managed to maintain its previous result with a 1% difference, said its leader Kornelia Ninova at a press briefing following a meeting of the BSP Executive Bureau. The party's national council will meet on Saturday to discuss the outcome of the elections and the measures to be taken, as well as whether a party congress will be convened. The BSP has dropped to fifth position for the first time.

The leader of the left party stressed that the BSP would not support a GERB government and would not participate in a coalition with GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. "The BSP continues its battle to change the GERB model," Ninova said. Speaking about a possible participation in an expert government with GERB's mandate, she said an expert cabinet would be a cover-up of political responsibility and therefore the BSP would not participate in such a government.

• With 99.98% of tally sheets processed, GERB/SDS wins the October 2 snap election

Asked whether the party's executive bureau would resign because of the poor election results, Ninova said the resignation was being sought by members who had acted against the interests of the BSP during the election campaign.